Governor Discusses Coal Bed Methane with Queensland Officials

Press Release

Governor Discusses Coal Bed Methane with Queensland Officials

Governor Dave Freudenthal today discussed coal bed methane issues with State of Queensland officials on his trip to Australia.

The University of Wyoming's School of Energy Resources, which sponsored the trip, has coordinated carbon capture and sequestration as well as coal research with the University of Queensland.

Queensland is on the cusp of developing a significant natural gas exporting industry, based on natural gas found in coal seams, similar to resources in Wyoming's Powder River Basin. The Governor said the international focus on energy is driving the implementation of technology that will make better use of coal, an issue of great importance to Wyoming if its coal is to remain competitive in the marketplace.

Gov. Freudenthal had discussions on water management and regulatory mechanisms regarding coal seam methane development, issues he said are significant to places like Queensland and Wyoming that produce or utilize coal.

Fruedenthal met with Premier of Queensland Anna Bligh and spoke to a gathering of 250 Queensland energy industry members. Queensland and Wyoming share similar characteristics: low population density, energy based economies, long histories of independent citizens and early action on women's political rights.

With respect to the large coal industry in both states, Governor Freudenthal noted that while Wyoming produces more tons, Queensland collects more money for its metallurgical coal, which is government-owned.

In June, the U.W. SER will host a conference in conjunction with the University of Queensland and Chinese officials, who share Wyoming's interests in coal, climate and resource management issues.

Tomorrow the Governor is expected to meet with officials from Rio Tinto, a $30 billion publicly-traded, multi-mineral, global mining company. Governor Freudenthal will also meet with Queensland University of Technology Vice Chancellor, Prof. Peter Coaldrake to discuss sustainable resource management. Freudenthal is scheduled to participate in an Energy Roundtable, a discussion hosted by Queensland University of Technology.

Later in the day, Gov. Freudenthal will travel to Chincilla with Hon. Stephen Robertson, Queensland Minister for Natural Resources, Mines & Energy and Minister for Trade. Together they will tour Linc Energy's coal gasification operation and examine cutting edge cleaner power and fuels technologies.

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