Galilee Energy’s Glenaras coal seam gas pilot restart is on-track with new electrical submersible pumps being installed.
The participants successfully restarted the Galilee Gas Project pilot at Glenaras. AGL Energy Limited (ASX:AGK), the Joint Venture Operator, commenced commissioning activities on Tuesday 19 March 2013 at GA04 and pumped water from the coal seams in the Betts Creek beds to the holding pond. Restart of the Glenaras pilot marks the successful completion of a detailed engineering review to identify weaknesses in the original artificial lift system and implement key changes to deliver a stable, robust and reliable system.
All 5 wells are performing to design and delivering stable operations with coal seam gas desorption from all wells.
Commissioning activities commenced at GA04 (the central well in the 5 spot pilot) when the electrical submersible pump started to lift water from the coal seams in the Betts Creek beds to surface. A 24-hour pump flow test confirmed design performance objectives have been met. On successful completion of the GA04 flow test, GA06 was started on 21 March followed by GA02 and GA03 on 22 March and finally GA05 on 23 March.
Pump operation has been carefully managed to bring the water levels down according to a plan designed to ensure that any gas release from the coals is optimised. The process is designed to ensure a slow and steady draw down of water, which provides the best conditions for gas desorption.
