Platts International Gas Report: Interest grows in unconventional gas plays

"Unconventional gas plays in central Europe have received considerable attention in recent years, following announcements by the Canada-based Falcon Oil and Gas that its Mako Trough licenses in nearby Hungary holds an estimated 600 billion cubic meters of resources in place.

However,Falcon has not yet been able to turn resources into reserves,and financial difficulties have resulted in work effectively shutting down while Falcon searches for partners.

Hungary’s MOL has also announced that it has hundreds of billions of cubic meters of unconventional gas in place,and is examining the potential for economic extraction in a joint venture with ExxonMobil. However,as tight gas accumulations with very low permeability,the Hungarian unconventional plays are fundamentally different,Hussain said.

Falcon has also indicated challenges with heat,as the Mako Trough is in a highly active geothermal area. In contrast,the source rock in the Vienna Basin has higher permeability (although as a shale play,low porosity),and is significantly cooler."

Download PDF