About Us

Composite Energy was founded in 2004 and is actively pursuing plans to develop Coal Bed Methane (CBM), an indigenous source of energy, in the UK and elsewhere in Europe. The Company now holds licenses covering coalfields in Scotland, England, Wales and Poland. The CBM is at depths of around 900 metres where the coals are water-saturated and considered unmineable using traditional methods.

Funded privately, Composite Energy has an experienced management team, strong partnerships, and uses its own mobile drilling rigs to provide operational flexibility. The rigs are on-site for a relatively short period of time and the well sites have a small footprint.

The process of extraction of Coal Bed Methane targets methane in the coal itself, which is created by the decay of organic matter over time. As the heat and pressure underground builds - and the coal begins to form - the methane is gradually adsorbed into the surface coal. By releasing the pressure in the coal seams, through de-watering the coals, it is possible to capture the methane and pump it directly into the local gas network.

CBM production is an accepted technology used extensively in Australia, Canada and the USA, and Composite Energy is pioneering its use in the UK.

The extraction of Coal Bed Methane is completely different to the technique known as Underground Coal Gasification, which entails setting fire to the coals underground to release syngas (methane, carbon monoxide and hydrogen). Composite Energy is not involved in Underground Coal Gasification.

Composite Energy drilled its first appraisal well in November 2004 and is producing methane from its Airth Pilot Development near Grangemouth in Scotland.

Following the award of CBM licences covering coalfields in Scotland, England and Wales in 2008, Composite Energy is working with landowners and the local planning authorities to access sites for appraisal drilling to assess the suitability of the coal for methane extraction. In a c. £15 million campaign, up to 18 appraisal wells are expected to be drilled during 2009 and 2010.

Composite Energy is also co-sponsoring a study to evaluate the potential for injecting flue gas into the coals as a method of CO₂ storage as well as enhancing the recovery of CBM.