By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Oct. 31 -- Canada's annual average gas production is expected to increase to 17.3 bcfd in 2008 from 17.1 bcfd in 2005, said the Canadian National Energy Board in a new report.
The report assesses production trends and development expectations in the Western Canada Sedimentary basin (WCSB) and historical data from wells in clearly defined fields in Atlantic Canada.
NEB says coalbed methane production in western Canada will increase to 1 bcfd from 0.3 bcfd during the study period. The CBM production surge will offset an expected decline of total conventional gas production to 16.4 bcfd in 2008 from 16.8 bcfd in 2005, NEB said.
In Atlantic Canada, gas deliverability is expected to slip to an average 0.35 bcfd in 2006, rise as a result of added compression to 0.50 bcfd in 2007, before again declining gradually to average 0.48 bcfd in 2008.
Although the WCSB currently accounts for about 98% of Canada's gas production, NEB expects that to change. The organization predicts that conventional gas from the region will decline to 15.9 bcfd in 2008 from 16.3 bcfd in 2006.
NEB says the WCSB will remain the mainstay of Canadian gas production for many years, but drilling must increase to sustain output because deliverability rates of new wells are declining.
