Poland has awarded coalbed methane development rights on 60,000 acres in the Upper Silesian basin to a unit of McCormick Energy Inc., Houston.
McCormick Poland is one of two companies to receive coalbed methane concessions in the past month from Poland's Ministry of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources, and Forestry. The ministry in June signed a deal with Amoco Poland Ltd. covering exploration and development of coalbed methane on a 120,000 acre Upper Silesian tract in the same vicinity (OGJ, July 5, p. 26).
The ministry's latest coalbed methane agreement is one of three new contracts between McCormick Energy affiliates and Polish parties. The deals allow McCormick to drill coalbed wells on public and privately owned land and use production from the wells to heat and generate electricity for mines in southern Poland.
McCormick Poland plans to drill nine wells on the ministry concession and adjoining acreage during an evaluation phase. Full development could lead to drilling of as many as another 160 methane wells and installation of compressors, pipelines, and other equipment.
A timetable for development was not disclosed. But based on data from 70 active coal mines and more than 1,000 well cores, wells in the concession area could produce more than 400 bcf of methane in the next 20 years, said McCormick Energy Pres. and Chief Executive Officer Sanford E. McCormick.
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McCormick Poland also signed agreements with two mines near the concession area:
- Nadwislanski Spolka Weglowa SA granted the company methane development rights on a 5,000 acre tract mined by KWK Brzeszcze.
- Jastrzebska Spolka Weglowa SA awarded similar rights on a 2,800 acre tract at Krupinski mine.
The McCormick unit also is negotiating to expand methane development to acreage owned by other Polish coal mines.
In addition, another affiliated company, McCormick Power Co., has agreed to install cogeneration units at Krupinski mine. The units are to be fueled by methane otherwise vented as part of coal companies' mine degasification programs. McCormick expects to sign similar contracts at several other mines.
Poland has a growing market for gas, which now supplies only 8% of the country's total energy needs. Imports account for about two thirds of Poland's gas supply.
Units of McCormick Energy recently conducted a 500 methane development well program in the U.S. In addition to evaluating other methane development prospects in the U.S., the company is studying coalbed methane potential in several eastern European countries.
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