CBM Asia Development Corp. reports high final gas content values with excellent gas quality have been measured at the Kutai West coalbed methane production-sharing contract in East Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Newton Energy Capital Ltd. operates the Kutai West CBM PSC, in which CBM Asia holds an 18% working interest.

Contractor PT GeoServices measured the gas content of 17 coal samples that were cored from the CBM-KW-01 exploration well. The final gas content ranged from 155 to 359 cu f/ton, reported on an industry-standard dry, ash-free basis. The concentration of methane and other hydrocarbon gases averaged over 97% with low CO2.

“Gas content averaging 275 cu ft/ton is much better than expected and some of the highest measured to date in Indonesia,” said CBM Asia Chairman Scott H. Stevens. “By comparison, it is over five times higher than in the Powder River basin, Wyoming, USA, which the US Geological Survey considers to be Indonesia’s closest commercial analog and the world’s second most productive CBM field at 1.4 Bcf/d. High gas content is an excellent indicator for the upcoming production pilot program at Kutai West.”