Gas found at Khon Kaen drilling site

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Gas found at Khon Kaen drilling site
JITIMA CHANPHROM,
PRATCH RUJIVANAROM

KHON KAEN: THE ENERGY MINISTRY has revealed that a drilling site in Khon Kaen has enough gas to operate commercially - so a gas pipeline and another rig at the same site are set for construction within the next few months.

But a local environment group warned that petroleum production in the area would severely affect nearby villagers' lives because of the pollution the drilling would emit.

Energy Ministry geology specialist Santi Thongwilard revealed that the Dong Mun 5 site near Ban Namun village in Kranuan district could produce 6.5 million cubic feet of gas per day.

"As the Dong Mun site was found to be operational, the gas pressure test will be done for another 30 days and after that 16 kilometres of gas pipeline will be constructed to transport gas to the plant and there will be drilling for another site nearby," Santi said.

"This is good luck for the country that we found an operational gas site in our country. It can reduce the gas reliance from abroad and it will generate income for the country through royalties and taxes."

Santi said Thailand used 5,000 million cubic feet of gas per day, while the country produced only 3,800 million cubic feet per day and had to import the shortfall from Myanmar.

He said that Apico, the American firm operating the site, would pay Bt29 billion to the local government and Bt188 billion to the central government in royalties.

Locals 'left sick by exploration'

The news has shocked locals in Ban Namun, who claimed that 15 days of round-the-clock gas burning at the site as part of the exploration had left villagers sick.

The village is 1.7 kilometres from the site.

"We just heard the news that the gas pit will be developed into a gas production site and we are very disappointed with this news, because the people here have already been hurt by the gas exploration. The gas production will definitely change the locals' lives," said Nattaporn Arthan, a representative of the Namun Dunsad Environment Conservation Group.

The villagers had asked the Khon Kaen Administrative Court to suspend the drilling, which they said leaked methane into the environment and contaminated the local food and water supply.

The court was scheduled to rule on the matter on October 15 but that did not happen.

Nattaporn said the villagers would go to Bangkok tomorrow to protest at Apico's office.

"We have no choice but to fight to protect our livelihoods," she said.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Gas-found-at-Khon-Kaen-drilling-site-30271526.html

-- The Nation 2015-10-25

[ExpatOilWorker]

Again numbers are just being tossed around. The royalty values must be for the entire concession period and a lot higher gas production, if not this gas is about 1,000 times more expensive that normal natural gas.

[Ricardo]

" But a local environment group warned that petroleum production in the area would severely affect nearby villagers' lives because of the pollution the drilling would emit. "

Presumably the villagers have abandoned using their own cars, motorbikes & iron-buffaloes, to reduce local-impact of burning petroleum products ?

And if the gas will be piped to a site sixteen miles away, wouldn't that be removing the current problem, from their immediate vicinity ... they should welcome construction of the pipeline !

[Soutpeel]

Again numbers are just being tossed around. The royalty values must be for the entire concession period and a lot higher gas production, if not this gas is about 1,000 times more expensive that normal natural gas.

Yeap it will be for the entire concession period and projected on what they think they are going to get out of it production wise...of course this wouldnt be the first time " reserve numbers" have been " fudged "

[Soutpeel]

" But a local environment group warned that petroleum production in the area would severely affect nearby villagers' lives because of the pollution the drilling would emit. "

Presumably the villagers have abandoned using their own cars, motorbikes & iron-buffaloes, to reduce local-impact of burning petroleum products ?

And if the gas will be piped to a site sixteen miles away, wouldn't that be removing the current problem, from their immediate vicinity ... they should welcome construction of the pipeline !

The pipeline will not remove the need for a flare at the well head location or separtion plant, if that what they have there, not sure how its all set up

[Ricardo]

" But a local environment group warned that petroleum production in the area would severely affect nearby villagers' lives because of the pollution the drilling would emit. "

Presumably the villagers have abandoned using their own cars, motorbikes & iron-buffaloes, to reduce local-impact of burning petroleum products ?

And if the gas will be piped to a site sixteen miles away, wouldn't that be removing the current problem, from their immediate vicinity ... they should welcome construction of the pipeline !

The pipeline will not remove the need for a flare at the well head location or separtion plant, if that what they have there, not sure how its all set up

So they will build a pipeline, to carry away the gas produced to where it can be used productively, yet still be flaring gas at the start of the pipeline rather than sending it away, doesn't make much sense to me ?

I can understand flaring gas, at an oil-production well-head, it's an unwanted/uncommercial by-product.

Would any of our more-expert posters care to comment, on why the current flaring (for test-purposes) seems to be producing so much pollution, in this particular case ? Is that normal ?

[Soutpeel]

" But a local environment group warned that petroleum production in the area would severely affect nearby villagers' lives because of the pollution the drilling would emit. "

Presumably the villagers have abandoned using their own cars, motorbikes & iron-buffaloes, to reduce local-impact of burning petroleum products ?

And if the gas will be piped to a site sixteen miles away, wouldn't that be removing the current problem, from their immediate vicinity ... they should welcome construction of the pipeline !

The pipeline will not remove the need for a flare at the well head location or separtion plant, if that what they have there, not sure how its all set up

So they will build a pipeline, to carry away the gas produced to where it can be used productively, yet still be flaring gas at the start of the pipeline rather than sending it away, doesn't make much sense to me ?

I can understand flaring gas, at an oil-production well-head, it's an unwanted/uncommercial by-product.

Would any of our more-expert posters care to comment, on why the current flaring (for test-purposes) seems to be producing so much pollution, in this particular case ? Is that normal ?

As i said not sure how they are set up, but flares are not solely used unwanted " by product" they also serve as a safety device in that in the case of a shut in, you dont want to vent large volumes of flammable gas to atmosphere un burned as it can go " bang" so you burn it ...putting a flare too far away means your burning off a hell of lot gas in the case of an emergency

As regards the " pollution" what is the actual pollution being produced ? Black smoke....this is indictive of being fuel gas rich, not enough oxygen in the mix...

A flare stack set up properly should only have water vapour and Co2 as the by product, same as your gas stove at home, if you cant get enough O2 in the system they sometimes inject steam to create a turbulent flow to draw in more O2 and get a better fuel mix so on some flares you will see white "smoke" which is actually steam

Edited October 25, 2015 by Soutpeel

[willyumiii]

" But a local environment group warned that petroleum production in the area would severely affect nearby villagers' lives because of the pollution the drilling would emit. "

Presumably the villagers have abandoned using their own cars, motorbikes & iron-buffaloes, to reduce local-impact of burning petroleum products ?

And if the gas will be piped to a site sixteen miles away, wouldn't that be removing the current problem, from their immediate vicinity ... they should welcome construction of the pipeline !

It is methane leaking into their environment they are concerned about., not the burning of petroleum products.

[willyumiii]

If it is going to be as profitable as they claim,

why not pay to relocate the villagers to a safe location?

[Soutpeel]

" But a local environment group warned that petroleum production in the area would severely affect nearby villagers' lives because of the pollution the drilling would emit. "

Presumably the villagers have abandoned using their own cars, motorbikes & iron-buffaloes, to reduce local-impact of burning petroleum products ?

And if the gas will be piped to a site sixteen miles away, wouldn't that be removing the current problem, from their immediate vicinity ... they should welcome construction of the pipeline !

It is methane leaking into their environment they are concerned about., not the burning of petroleum products.

Yes of course, if there are leaks, or there may be pockets of "shallow gas" coming up through the ground not directly related to the drilling and production

[oldsailor35]

Income for the country through TAXES ! you got to be kidding, who pays taxes in LOS !

[Soutpeel]

Income for the country through TAXES ! you got to be kidding, who pays taxes in LOS !

I do or to be technically correct the company does...but its my name on the paper

And to bring this back on topic billions of Thb have been paid over to Thailand in the form of royalties from the offshore O&G concessions for over the last 50 years...

Edited October 25, 2015 by Soutpeel

[Geordie59]

" But a local environment group warned that petroleum production in the area would severely affect nearby villagers' lives because of the pollution the drilling would emit. "

Presumably the villagers have abandoned using their own cars, motorbikes & iron-buffaloes, to reduce local-impact of burning petroleum products ?

And if the gas will be piped to a site sixteen miles away, wouldn't that be removing the current problem, from their immediate vicinity ... they should welcome construction of the pipeline !

The pipeline will not remove the need for a flare at the well head location or separtion plant, if that what they have there, not sure how its all set up

So they will build a pipeline, to carry away the gas produced to where it can be used productively, yet still be flaring gas at the start of the pipeline rather than sending it away, doesn't make much sense to me ?

I can understand flaring gas, at an oil-production well-head, it's an unwanted/uncommercial by-product.

Would any of our more-expert posters care to comment, on why the current flaring (for test-purposes) seems to be producing so much pollution, in this particular case ? Is that normal ?

I suspect the protests are just a way of local villagers trying to get some money / jobs etc out of Apico.

As for continued flaring at the start of the pipeline - this is quite normal. In simple terms, say for example the well needs to be shut in at the down safety hole valve, pressure above the valve needs to be bled down. The fastest and safest way to do this is by burning the gas close to the well. A limited amount of gas should always be burning as a pilot for such burning. The last thing you want to worry about in event of an emergency is lighting the gas.

It is also quite common to have flaring off points staged along the length of a pipeline when it is on land.

Edited October 25, 2015 by Geordie59

[ClutchClark]

If it is going to be as profitable as they claim,

why not pay to relocate the villagers to a safe location?

I have wells on my property back in the States.

Really no need to relocate anyone...unless you have a well with high H2S.

I really find it amazing that a country with as much tolerance for pollution as Thailand has that these folks are actually that bothered...perhaps they are working an angle to receive compensation?

Edited October 25, 2015 by ClutchClark

[tigermonkey]

" But a local environment group warned that petroleum production in the area would severely affect nearby villagers' lives because of the pollution the drilling would emit. "

Presumably the villagers have abandoned using their own cars, motorbikes & iron-buffaloes, to reduce local-impact of burning petroleum products ?

And if the gas will be piped to a site sixteen miles away, wouldn't that be removing the current problem, from their immediate vicinity ... they should welcome construction of the pipeline !

It is methane leaking into their environment they are concerned about., not the burning of petroleum products.

Accoprding to the OP, they are concerned about "the burning of petroleum products. " locals in Ban Namun, who claimed that 15 days of round-the-clock gas burning at the site as part of the exploration had left villagers sick."

I believe that the locals have latched on to a cash cow in their neighborhood, and will do everything in their power to get a share. I'm really surprised that this was not settled before it went public.

[Estrada]

Again numbers are just being tossed around. The royalty values must be for the entire concession period and a lot higher gas production, if not this gas is about 1,000 times more expensive that normal natural gas.

The royalty figures are for the concession period and the price is the same as normal natural gas.

[Estrada]

According to independent research carried out in the USA, there is a higher incidence of certain diseases where people live within 1km of the well head and reducing substantially up to 2km from the well head. The recommended minimum distance for residents is 2km+ from the well head.

Edited October 25, 2015 by Estrada

[willyumiii]

If it is going to be as profitable as they claim,

why not pay to relocate the villagers to a safe location?

I have wells on my property back in the States.

Really no need to relocate anyone...unless you have a well with high H2S.

I really find it amazing that a country with as much tolerance for pollution as Thailand has that these folks are actually that bothered...perhaps they are working an angle to receive compensation?

the stats are what? at least 13,000 miles from where you live?

I would be very comfortable at that distance too!

[ClutchClark]

According to independent research carried out in the USA, there is a higher incidence of certain diseases where people live within 1km of the well head and reducing substantially up to 2km from the well head. The recommended minimum distance for residents is 2km+ from the well head.

Sounds like you are talking about VOC levels?

My point being that the US does have stringent environmental regulations and agencies to enforce those same regs...but Thailand is basically a huge toxic waste site and the Thai people could care a less from ehat I have seen.

[metisdead]

An off topic baiting post has been removed as well as a reply.

[ExpatOilWorker]

The royalty numbers still sound overly optimistic to me. Even at $5 per Mscf and 50% royalty payment, they will have to produce 220 million scf/day for 30 years.

That is a big onshore gas field and the KK area have been drilled for years.

[Alration]

Income for the country through TAXES ! you got to be kidding, who pays taxes in LOS !

How do you think the country is funded? The best part of 2 trillion baht was collected in 2014 so just because you don't pay anything don't assume that no-one else does.

Edited October 25, 2015 by Alration

[Soutpeel]

Income for the country through TAXES ! you got to be kidding, who pays taxes in LOS !

How do you think the country is funded?

If you listen to some on here, its their farang pensions, on line business' and all the money they spend that finances the entire country and if they dont give these people long term visa's or PR, let them own land, they are going to leave and the economy will collaspe

I will concide these people most likely support business' like chang and Singha in a big way, and have single handedly developed the MacMansion construction business

[eddie61]

Income for the country through TAXES ! you got to be kidding, who pays taxes in LOS !

Ah but this is an american company......

[stoneyboy]

Do they want any pipeline welders,I was a dab hand at stoving back in the day with Nu 5 cellulose rods.

LOL

[springheeled jack]

instead of moaning and groaning these people should realise that gas is an important commodity which will benefit them eventually ,

[TPI]

"But a local environment group warned that petroleum production in the area would severely affect nearby villagers' lives because of the pollution the drilling would emit".

It becomes boring the way Thai people, usually, as in this case, complain about the effects of a drilling rig in the vicinity. The fire plume of the burn off is over a mile away, Yes it's noisy. Yes, there is a glow in the sky at night. Get over it!

When they tap the gas well all that will remain will be a big pipe, about a foot in diameter, sticking out of a concrete pad by about a metre.....that's it! There is no money to be made by the local villages and the owner of the land will only get a nominal sum as rent!

The owners of the gas and the government will make a fortune!!!!

That's the way the system is designed to work, don't complian.........you voted for them!

[TPI]

" But a local environment group warned that petroleum production in the area would severely affect nearby villagers' lives because of the pollution the drilling would emit. "

Presumably the villagers have abandoned using their own cars, motorbikes & iron-buffaloes, to reduce local-impact of burning petroleum products ?

And if the gas will be piped to a site sixteen miles away, wouldn't that be removing the current problem, from their immediate vicinity ... they should welcome construction of the pipeline !

It is methane leaking into their environment they are concerned about., not the burning of petroleum products.

The methane will be burnt off in the "flare" I think it's just a way to screw money out of the system, go for it, I wish you success!

[mgjackson69]

"...a local environmental group...."

Who are these people?

Do they speak from a position of knowledge, or are they a bunch of bitchers looking for payday?

[Olieboer]

Thailand needs a good supply of natural gas and uses offshore, onshore and imported gas. To meet future demand, and reduce dependence on imports, a lot more wells like this one need to be drilled and produced.

As no-one has the full facts, we are all speculating and extrapolating each others conclusions of the news story, Entertaining though that often is! The following are just a few of my musings about the article:

At 1.7km, the drilling operation would not be very noisy, but generates a lot of additional heavy traffic in the area, this wasn't mentioned as a problem, though. Methane was. Releases of methane are quite common during the drilling of the formation (or encountering shallow gas), but detectors on the shale shaker will soon signal the crew to weight up the mud and do a circulation. The total methane amounts are really low and would be virtually undetectable at 1.7km, unless a blow-out was occurring!

Even at 1.7km there are quite a few reasons that the well-test flaring could make people feel unwell. As we do not know how, or what composition of gas is being flared, its difficult to say if the villagers are looking for compensation/income or genuinely sick. In any case, sampling and analysis was needed. 'Was', as flaring is probably stopped by now... (Stable door - horse, etc. comes to mind)

it is most unlikely a flare will be built after completing the well as it would be at the production/gathering facilities are some 16km away which would serve many wells. Small amounts of blowdown at the wellhead (e.g. during wireline work) would just be vented at site.

The article mentions a 30 day pressure test, and that a pipeline will be laid. This will most probably be a 'pressure build-up' test to see how the pressure downhole recovers after being produced under specific conditions. Tells a lot about the downhole world

A bit of outside reading helps fill in some of the gaps in the article, for example, the rather inept efforts to obtain consent signatures. The involvement of activists, whether for political or financial gains is always bad news, too. The villagers probably feel they have grounds for feeling 'pushed around'.

The only things that imho are certain: The well has been drilled, completed and is being tested before being tied in to a gathering station. More wells will follow, and at some point in the future they all might be stimulated or even hydraulically fractured to improve productivity. Oh joy 'fracking', that always brings the whackos out of the cupboard!

My 'imho' views here are based on 22 years employment with Shell International as an Exploration and Production supervisor.

Edited October 25, 2015 by Olieboer