Metgasco said yesterday it had met its obligations, which included the planning, execution and testing of the CSM exploration hole Middle Creek-1 (MMMC1) and a deviated fully cored hole, with the total expenditure exceeding the $A500,000 minimum requirement.

It said MMMC-1A was successfully drilled as a deviated cored hole from the original MMMC-1 hole.

A gross coal thickness of 21.1m in seams greater than 1.5m thick was intersected in the Walloon coal measures, confirming earlier MMMC-1 open-hole logging results.

The Richmond seam had the greatest thickness at 5.9m, at a depth of about 411m, with at least four additional seams about 2m thick to a depth of about 550m, Metgasco said.

Analysis of 20 coal core samples at MMMC-1, taken for long-term desorption testing, indicated gas content is in the range 1.6 million cubic tonnes to 15.6m3/t (daf), with high methane composition and low carbon dioxide.

Permeability testing was completed in four coal seams at a depth of 409m-584m, and results were undergoing final interpretation.

The company added that it would undertake the second farm-in program, which entitled it to increase its CSM interest to 75% by completing agreed work that included reprocessing of existing seismic surveys and the acquisition of new seismic data.

Metgasco has also farmed into the conventional hydrocarbon interests held by Molopo in PEL 13, intending to earn up to 50% of the interests by undertaking a program with an expenditure of $A300,000.

Molopo recently announced that Metgasco was earning a 50% interest in the much larger Clarence Moreton basin permit PEL 426.