VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Sept. 26, 2013) - CBM Asia Development Corp. ("CBM Asia" or the "Company") (News - Market indicators)(US:CBMDF)(FRANKFURT:IY2) announces that it has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Multinational Gas Company ("MGC") to conduct a technical and market study ("Study") of a CBM-to-LNG facility(s) with a potential capacity of up to 50 MMcf/d in South Kalimantan, Indonesia.
As specified under the MoU CBM Asia's responsibilities are;
- To conduct a commercial analysis on the CBM development strategy required to meet the proposed LNG facility capacity.
- To produce a technical study to determine gas production schedule, reserve certification and natural gas delivery points.
MGC's responsibilities are;
- To conduct market analysis on the demand for LNG.
- To undertake infrastructure study on construction of the LNG facility(s) and related logistical groundwork.
Each party is responsible for its own costs in relation to the Study.
On completion of the Study, CBM Asia and MGC would jointly decide on the feasibility of the project with a view to entering into a definitive agreement on the establishment of a business relationship. The proposed business structure would require CBM Asia to supply natural gas whereas MGC would off-take gas, build own and operate the LNG facility, and market/deliver the LNG to the end consumer. The potential CBM field development, gas sales contract, LNG facility construction and other related works would remain subject to local, regional and central government approvals.
"We are very pleased to establish a relationship with MGC which has an extensive presence in the global LNG business including Asia/Australia. Furthermore, interest in South Kalimantan underscores our belief of the potential role the region's CBM resources will play in Indonesia's future energy requirements," states Alan Charuk, CBM Asia's President and CEO. "Indonesia's natural gas production has fallen over the past three years as aging conventional fields mature whereas Indonesia's economy continues to steadily grow pushing gas demand ever higher. CBM will help to bridge that gap and also help reduce energy bills by replacing high cost diesel (USD25/Mcf) currently used in the power generation and the coal mining industries."
"From a development perspective the potential establishment of a medium-scale LNG facility with capacity of up to 50 MMcf/d provides the crucial mid-development step beyond early-stage power generation towards development of new pipelines and/or large scale LNG facilities required for full-scale development of the Barito Basin's vast CBM potential."
ABOUT CBM ASIA DEVELOPMENT CORP.
CBM Asia Development Corp. is a Canadian-based unconventional gas company with significant coalbed methane ("CBM") exploration and development opportunities in Indonesia. The Company holds various participating interests in five production sharing contracts (each a "PSC") for CBM in Indonesia, with the right to farm-into 4 additional PSCs. Indonesia has one of the largest CBM resources in the world with a potential 453 trillion cubic feet in-place, more than double the country's natural gas reserves (Stevens and Hadiyanto, 2004). Since 2008 a total of 54 CBM PSCs have been granted by the Government of Indonesia, representing exploration commitments of well over US$100 million during the next 3 years. In addition to CBM Asia, other companies active in CBM exploration in Indonesia include BP, Dart Energy, ENI, ExxonMobil, Medco, Santos, and TOTAL. BP, ENI, and the Indonesian government have confirmed that commercial CBM production started in March 2011 from the Sanga-Sanga PSC and is being exported from the Bontang LNG facility. The Company trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "TCF". www.cbmasia.ca
ON BEHALF OF CBM ASIA DEVELOPMENT CORP.
Alan T. Charuk, President & CEO
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release contains forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Readers are cautioned that these forward looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected. The economics of exploring, developing and operating resource properties are affected by many factors including, but not limited to, the cost of exploration and development operations, conclusions of economic evaluations, unexpected formations or pressures, premature declines in reserves, potential environmental damage, blow‐outs, fires, variations in the amount and saturation of CBM contained in individual coal seams and the rate of production therefrom, fluctuations in gas prices and the availability of capital. There are no assurances that the Company's work programs will result in the discovery of commercially viable or economically producible properties. Gas in place estimates referred to in this news release are not NI 51-101 compliant and do not represent "discovered petroleum initially-in-place" within the meaning of the Canadian Oil & Gas Evaluation Handbook (COGE Handbook). The term "discovered petroleum initially-in-place" is equivalent to discovered resources, and is defined in the COGE Handbook to mean that quantity of petroleum that is estimated, as of a given date, to be contained in known accumulations prior to production. There are no assurances that any portion of the estimated gas in place resources referred to herein will be discovered. Furthermore, such estimates make no allowance for the recovery of the gas which will depend on, among other things, the reservoir characteristics encountered and future economic conditions. All of the forward-looking statements made in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements and those made in our Canadian continuous disclosure filings available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com including our December 31, 2012 year end annual MD&A dated April 24, 2013 and second quarter 2013 interim MD&A dated August 29, 2013. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances save as required under applicable securities legislation.
