ArcelorMittal in 500bn m³ Kazakh CBM Project
Luxemburg-based steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal and Kazakh Satbayev University are jointly targeting reserves of 500bn m³ of coalbed methane, the managing director for innovation at Satbayev University told NGW July 23.
ArcelorMittal Temirtau created a joint venture with the country's biggest technical research institution to implement the project for exploration of the gas reserves and coalbed methane (CBM) production in the Karaganda region earlier in the month.
Coalbed methane is natural gas extracted from coal seams, as is done on an industrial scale in Australia, where it is the feedstock for the Queensland LNG export projects.
Chingiz Cherniyazdanov told NGW that the cost of the project will be determined after the completion of the feasibility study and geological exploration. “According to the estimates of international experts, the estimated reserves of methane at a depth of up to 1500 metres are about 490bn m3. The forecast for methane production level annually will be determined after the completion of geological exploration. The joint venture to implement the project started on July 9, 2018.”
In recent decades, it has become an important source of energy in US, Canada, Australia and other countries, with annual production over 58bn m3/yr, ArcelorMittal announced July 10. “The joint venture will focus on geological exploration of methane reserves in coal seams on the contractual territories of ArcelorMittal Temirtau as well as processing methane extraction from coal mines. This gas could be used to produce electricity in gas power stations and/or to convert motor vehicles engine from diesel to gas to meet ArcelorMittal Temirtau's own needs, which will enable optimisation of internal expenses, as well as significantly reduce the impact on the environment.”
Kazakhstan produced 27.1bn m3 sale gas in 2017, 18.8% more than the previous year, of which 13.2bn m3 were exported. The official statistics are very different from BP estimates.