Australian energy company TMK Energy has achieved a significant breakthrough at its Mongolian operations, setting a new daily gas production record that signals strong progress toward commercial-scale output.
Record-Breaking Performance
TMK Energy has smashed its previous gas production benchmarks, successfully pumping out 500 cubic metres of gas per day across multiple consecutive days from its Pilot Well project. The operation forms part of the company's broader Gurvantes XXXV coal seam gas venture located in southern Mongolia's remote landscapes.
The company's impressive performance continues into November, with current monthly production averaging approximately 480 cubic metres of gas daily. Should this rate persist, it would comfortably eclipse October's record average of 395 cubic metres per day, representing a substantial 21 per cent increase above previous peak performance levels.
Technical Milestones and Reservoir Management
This sustained output improvement stems from the strong performance of the Lucky Fox wells within the Pilot Well project. The company is steadily approaching the crucial desorption pressure threshold required to trigger significant gas volume increases.
Recent reservoir modelling and detailed subsurface data analysis have provided clearer pathways to achieving the necessary desorption pressure. TMK's strategic focus this year has centred on reducing reservoir pressure below the critical desorption point, prompting the drilling of additional production wells to enhance pumping capacity.
TMK Energy Chief Executive Officer Dougal Ferguson commended the achievement, stating: "Achieving the first of what we expect will be one of many production milestones is a great effort by the technical and operations team. The revised reservoir management plan is clearly having a positive impact with gas production rates increasing month on month."
Water production continues at rates exceeding 500 barrels per day, maintaining the necessary depressurisation of the reservoir toward desorption. Recent analysis confirms that most water originates from the coal seams themselves rather than adjacent aquifers, indicating strong coal seam permeability.
Commercial Prospects and Regional Significance
A recent technical workshop in Beijing brought together TMK management and strategic alliance partner J-Energy to review project progress. The session validated the project's merits and confirmed the economic potential of its massive gas resource.
TMK plans to leverage insights from the workshop to implement its 2026 work program and budget, while formulating strategies for commercialising gas production at scale. The company anticipates reaching commercial production levels next year from its 60-square-kilometre project area in Mongolia's Nariin Sukhait region.
The project boasts impressive resource estimates, including Mongolia's largest contingent resource (2C) of 1.214 billion cubic feet of natural gas, with a total prospective resource of 5.300 billion cubic feet across its 8,400-square-kilometre territory.
Management believes current reservoir modelling will accelerate progress toward a pre-feasibility study, addressing well spacing, design, gas drainage patterns, and productivity forecasting for the Lucky Fox wells.
Positioned near China's northern gas pipelines, TMK stands ready to become a significant regional gas supplier. The Gurvantes XXXV project could evolve into a reliable natural gas source for both Mongolia's domestic market and broader regional energy infrastructure, supporting Mongolia's transition away from coal-generated electricity.
Coal seam gas serves as an ideal transition fuel, producing approximately half the carbon emissions of coal-generated electricity while burning cleaner than other fossil fuels.
