TMK Energy steps on gas with fresh Mongolian drilling

TMK Energy has fired up the engines on a 2026 work program at the company’s Gurvantes XXXV coal-bed methane pilot project in Mongolia, mobilising a workover rig and crane to kick off a well optimisation and drilling campaign.

Set-up has now started at the 100 per cent-owned project, with the workover rig and a 70-tonne crane arriving on site last week. The first order of business was to remove the currently idle pump and production string from well LF-03, which is now being prepared for a cleanout and the first of three planned re-completions.

The work is designed to optimise gas flow from existing wells. The plan involves installing a new, smaller 5.5-inch slotted liner inside the existing 7-inch liner, before running smaller tubing and pumps. TMK says the reduced-diameter spacing should boost production from the existing wellbores. The optimisation process will initially apply to wells LF-03, LF-02 and LF-06.

Once the three workovers are in the bag, the company plans to spud a new well, dubbed LF-08. This will be drilled with a smaller hole size from the get-go to accommodate the 5.5-inch slotted liner.

‘As of today, the field has been averaging approximately 950 cubic metres per day a strong increase the gas rate achieved in September.’

TMK Energy chief executive officer Dougal Ferguson

If the re-completion strategy proves successful in boosting gas flows, the company says it will undertake the same process on all its existing Lucky Fox wells in 2027. That includes LF-07, which remains the star performer in the pilot field.

Across TMK’s well portfolio, September’s average output climbed eight per cent from August to 872 cubic metres a day, equivalent to 30,800 standard cubic feet per day (scfd). So far in October, the average has climbed dramatically from September to 950 cubic metres per day, or 33,549 scfd, suggesting the field may be rapidly closing in on commercial flow rates.

TMK Energy chief executive officer Dougal Ferguson said: “I am pleased to advise that the 2026 Work Program has now commenced at the Pilot Well Project with the LF-03 pump replacement and re-completion being the first of many field-based operations over the coming two months. Returning LF-03 to production after several months of being idle should only add to the overall increasing production in the field.”

Gurvantes XXXV sits less than 20 kilometres from China, one of the world’s largest energy markets and close to several mining operations in need of additional industrial power. The company’s 8400-square-kilometre project hosts an independently certified 2C contingent resource of 1.2 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) across 60 square kilometres. Although the classification covers potentially recoverable gas, further appraisal and development work is still required. In contrast, an additional 5.3 Tcf of best-estimate prospective resources hints at the scale of the prize across the wider project area.

Additionally, TMK has proposed a one-megawatt gas-to-power project with Mongolian partner Dashvaanjil Group, which would feed off the company’s gas and supply TMK’s operational power needs and nearby industrial users. Management says it intends to make a final investment decision before the end of October, subject to commercial arrangements.

With its first well now under the microscope for optimisation and a new drill campaign on the horizon, TMK appears to be methodically turning up the heat at Gurvantes XXXV. In a region that is beginning to attract major energy players, proving a repeatable, optimised production model could be a shrewd move.

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