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May 18, 2010

Release of Review of Commingling from the Ardley Coal Zone in Development Entity No. 1

This bulletin announces the release of the Review of Commingling from the Ardley Coal Zone in Development Entity No. 1.The Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) committed to a review of commingled coalbed methane (CBM) production from the Ardley coals within Development Entity (DE) No. 1 when it issued Bulletin 2006-28: Changes to the Management of Production from Two or More Pools in the Wellbore in July 2006. This review, which was completed with the participation of Alberta Environment, covers Ardley CBM development and production in DE No. 1 from its establishment on October 31, 2006, through to September 30, 2009.

The following is a summary of the report's key findings:

• The small water volumes produced confirm that the Ardley zone is not water saturated and suggest that the Ardley zone is not a groundwater aquifer in the area of DE No. 1.
• The inclusion of the Ardley zone in DE No. 1, which allows the zone to be produced in a commingled manner with other zones in the DE, has not impacted groundwater resources in the Ardley coals.

The report is available on the ERCB Web site www.ercb.ca under Publications: Publications Available: Reports and from ERCB Information Services, 640 – 5 Avenue SW, main floor; telephone: 403-297-8311; fax: 403-297-7040; e-mail: infoservices @ercb.ca . Questions regarding this bulletin or the report should be directed by e-mail to resourcecompliance @ercb.ca .

<original signed by>

Kevin Parks
Executive Manager
Geology, Environmental Science and Economics Branch