The Coal Seam Gas (CSG) production in Asia is expected to reach about 98 billion cubic meters (bcm) by 2020. Australia contributing over 60% of the total, with China and India representing the next major contributors - states a new report from GlobalData. The Coal Seam Gas (CSG), otherwise known as Coal Bed Methane (CBM), which has similar properties to natural gas, is extracted from coal seams and represents an important unconventional source of gas, becoming popular across Asia-Pacific and other major natural gas consuming countries.
Asia-Pacific is a major natural gas market, with the potential to become the largest gas market in the world in the future. The existence of substantial coal reserves, particularly in Australia, China and India, provide opportunities for companies to undertake CBM exploration and development activities.
The Asia-Pacific region holds 265,843 million tons (mmt) of proven (1P) coal reserves as of 2011, leading the region to rank second after North America in global reserves.
Some of the most highly industrialized countries in the world are located in this region, such as Japan, South Korea and China, along with some of the most highly populated countries with high consumption rates, such as India and China.
This incredible growth of natural gas consumption across Asia has made the development of unconventional gas sources vital to the region’s economy.
Australia has already had major success in CBM developments, but China is now also aggressively developing its CBM resources, while other Asian countries such as India, Indonesia and Vietnam begin to seek out similar opportunities.
The urgent need to develop CBM as a secure gas source is being supported by favorable fiscal policies and government regulations in a number of Asian countries. Queensland in Australia has introduced a gas scheme which mandates the increased usage of natural gas for power generation.
China has provided CBM operators exemption from Value Added Tax (VAT), and exemption from import duty for machinery used for CBM extraction.
India has also announced a tax holiday for CBM operations, albeit only for the blocks offered in the last four CBM exploration blocks award rounds.
In order to establish a superior export base for natural gas, Australia is undertaking the construction of several Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) liquefaction plants to convert CBM to LNG, which are expected to be operational within the next few years. Geographical proximity to energy-hungry South Asia will provide a good market for Australian LNG exports.
GlobalData is a leading global business intelligence provider offering advanced analytics to help clients make better, more informed decisions every day.
Source: GlobalData

Chevron Sells European Gasoline; ICE Gasoil Gains: Oil Products
Chevron Corp. (CVX) sold gasoline in northwest Europe on the barge market for at least a third day.
Gasoil rose for the first time in three days on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London. Hedge funds and other money managers increased bullish bets on the fuel, ICE data show.
Light Products
Gasoline barges traded at $972 a ton in the Amsterdam- Rotterdam-Antwerp area, according to a Bloomberg survey of traders and brokers monitoring the Argus Bulletin Board. That compares with deals from $967 to $978 on Jan. 4.
Chevron and Total SA sold barges of the Eurobob grade, to which ethanol is added to make finished fuel. Trafigura Beheer BV and Royal Dutch Shell Plc bought barges that typically comprise 1,000 to 2,000 tons.
Gasoline’s crack, or premium to Brent crude, rose to $6.88 a barrel as of 10:34 a.m. local time, compared with $6.66 on Jan. 4, according to data from PVM Oil Associates Ltd., a broker in London.
Naphtha’s crack, or discount to Brent, narrowed for the first time in seven sessions to $5.85 a barrel as of 10:33 a.m. London time, from $6.20 on Jan. 4, according to PVM data.
Middle Distillates
Gasoil for January delivery rose $2.50, or 0.3 percent, to $931 as of 1:08 p.m. London time.
The contract’s discount to February futures was $2.25 a ton, keeping the market in contango, a structure that can signal falling demand or rising supply.
Gasoil for January delivery last closed at a premium to the next-month contract on Dec. 24.
Gasoil’s crack gained to $14.40 a barrel versus $13.64 in the previous session. Brent fell 0.4 percent to $110.87 a barrel on ICE.
Money managers’ net-long bets on gasoil increased to 52,985 positions in the week to Dec. 31 from 50,223 in the previous period, the data showed. It is the highest since the week ended Dec. 4.
Source: Bloomberg