Thornton
New
Energy
Ltd


32
Carden
Place

Aberdeen





PRESS
RELEASE




Contact:
Garron
Lees
 
 
 
 
 
 For
Immediate
Release

Tel.:
+44
(0)
7905
982
607
 
 
 
 
 20th
April
2010


 

Joint
venture
to
develop
low
cost,
long
term,
clean
energy
for
Scotland

from
Underground
Coal
Gasification.

One
billion
tonnes
of
clean
coal
could
be
mined
from
Scottish
Coal
Field
following
tie

up
between
British
and
Australian
companies.


Fife
 based
 
 company
 Thornton
 New
 Energy
 Limited
 and
 Australian
 company
 Riverside
 Energy
 Limited

have
formed
a
multi
million
pound
joint
venture
to
explore
and
develop
the
coal
resources
under
the

Firth
of
Forth
in
Scotland.




Once
exploration
and
testing
is
completed,
the
joint
venture
will
use
clean
underground
coal
gasification

(UCG)
 technology
 to
 make
 the
 most
 of
 the
 vast
 resources
 which
 remain
 in
 the
 Firth
 of
 Forth
 area.

Thornton
New
Energy
–
a
subsidiary
of
British
company
BCG
Energy
Limited
–
became
the
first
company

to
be
awarded
a
licence
for
UCG
in
the
UK
in
early
2009.
BCG
is
a
company
that
was
formed
to
harness

the
expertise
of
the
North
Sea
oil
and
gas
industry
in
the
development
of
clean
energy
from
coal.


When
combined
with
carbon
capture
and
storage
technology,
underground
coal
gasification
will
offer
a

long
term
sustainable,
cheap,
secure
and
environmentally
benign
energy
supply
which
could
last
the
UK

for
more
than
100
years.


“Riverside’s
experience
and
skill
set
in
conventional
mining
complements
our
own
expertise
within
BCG,

developed
 in
 the
 oil
 and
 gas
 industry,
 and
 together
 we
 will
 be
 able
 to
 develop
 UCG
 operations
 much

faster
 than
 otherwise
 would
 be
 possible,”
 said
 Garron
 Lees,
 Commercial
 Director
 of
 Thornton
 New

Energy.
 “We
 are
 looking
 at
 opportunities
 for
 clean
 coal
 around
 the
 world
 and
 that
 includes
 on

Thornton’s
doorstep
here
in
Fife.”


The
UCG
licence
awarded
to
Thornton
New
Energy
in
January
2009
covers
27
square
miles
(70
square

kilometres)
of
a
coal
field
lying
1,000
to
2,000m
or
more
below
the
surface,
which
cannot
be
mined
with

traditional
technologies.
The
new
joint‐venture
with
Riverside
Energy
extends
the
total
field
area
to
95

square
miles
(240
square
kilometres).


Doug
 Goodall,
 Managing
 Director
 of
 Riverside
 Energy,
 said,
 “Our
 experience
 in
 energy
 related
 mining

and
exploration
lead
us
to
identify
the
Firth
of
Forth
as
one
of
Europe’s
premier
deposits
for
UCG.

We

can
 expect
 extremely
 high
 recovery
 factors
 without
 many
 of
 the
 cost
 factors
 that
 are
 normally

associated
 with
 deep
 mining.
 
 Although
 the
 UK
 has
 abundant
 coal
 reserves,
 most
 deep
 mines
 are
 no


Page
1




Thornton
New
Energy
Ltd

32
Carden
Place

Aberdeen





PRESS
RELEASE




Contact:
Garron
Lees
 
 
 
 
 
 For
Immediate
Release

Tel.:
+44
(0)
7905
982
607
 
 
 
 
 20th
April
2010


 

longer
commercially
viable
using
traditional
extraction
techniques.

UCG
is
a
method
of
realising
the
vast

potential
of
this
energy
reserve
in
a
clean
and
sustainable
manner.”



UCG
utilises
proven
drilling
technology
to
access
the
coal
seams
from
the
surface
without
the
need
to

send
 people
 underground.
 
 The
 project
 targets
 uneconomic
 coal
 reserves
 which
 are
 gasified

underground.
 
 The
 ‘syngas’
 produced
 is
 piped
 back
 to
 the
 surface
 where
 it
 is
 scrubbed
 and
 separated

into
component
gases.

After
removing
carbon
dioxide
to
be
sequestered
in
a
nearby
saline
aquifer
or
in

depleted
gas
traps
in
the
North
Sea,
the
remaining
mix
of
hydrogen,
methane
and
carbon
monoxide
is

used
as
the
energy
source
for
power
stations
and
for
gas‐to‐liquid
(GTL)
fuel
production.


“Our
project
will
generate
low‐carbon
electricity
from
coal.
Electricity
produced
in
this
way
has
a
much

lower
 cost
 than
 from
 renewable
 sources
 currently
 under
 development
 and
 it
 delivers
 much
 greater

energy
efficiency
than
can
be
achieved
by
any
modern
coal
power
station.”




When
 it
 moves
 from
 exploration
 to
 commercial
 operation
 in
 2
 –
 3
 years
 time,
 the
 Firth
 of
 Forth
 UCG

project
will
initially
generate
around
10
MW.
This
is
sufficient
to
supply
around
5,000
homes
with
low‐
carbon
power,
and
is
the
equivalent
output
from
twenty
120
metre
high
wind
turbines.
Further
projects

are
planned
which
will
eventually
generate
upwards
of
1GW
of
energy
from
the
field
as
it
is
developed.



Thornton
New
Energy
will
be
based
at
the
Hydrogen
Office
on
the
Methil
Business
Park
adjacent
to
the

Energy
Park.


Keith
Winter,
Head
of
Fife
Council’s
Development
Services
said:
“This
is
an
exciting
new
development
for

Fife
which
adds
significantly
to
the
renewable
and
low
carbon
proposition
for
Scotland.
It
will
not
only

contribute
 greatly
 to
 the
 achievement
 of
 Scotland’s
 carbon
 reduction
 targets
 but
 will
 also
 bring

investment
and
jobs
to
Fife.
This
is
a
further
example
of
the
innovation
being
developed
and
applied
by

companies
in
Scotland
to
bring
together
expertise
and
to
address
new
agendas
and
opportunities
within

the
energy
market
and
sector.”


Garron
Lees
Commercial
Director
of
Thornton
New
Energy
concluded
“We
are
taking
best
practice
from

the
oil
and
gas
industry
and
combining
it
with
expertise
from
the
coal
and
mineral
mining
industries
to

exploit
 our
 abundant
 natural
 resources
 in
 a
 clean
 and
 sustainable
 way.
 All
 aspects
 of
 our
 project
 are

individually
 proven
 and
 together
 they
 produce
 something
 which
 has
 the
 potential
 to
 be
 much
 greater

than
the
sum
of
its
parts.”


‐
ENDS
‐


Page
2




Thornton
New
Energy
Ltd

32
Carden
Place

Aberdeen





PRESS
RELEASE




Contact:
Garron
Lees
 
 
 
 
 
 For
Immediate
Release

Tel.:
+44
(0)
7905
982
607
 
 
 
 
 20th
April
2010


 




Contact:


Garron
Lees

Commercial
Director


Thornton
New
Energy
Ltd.

32
Carden
Place

Aberdeen

AB10
1UP



Tel.
+44
(0)
7905
982
607

Email.
glees@bcgenergy.co.uk

Web:
www.bcgenergy.co.uk




Editors
Notes:

About
Riverside
Energy
Ltd.


The
principals
of
Riverside
Energy
Limited
are
geoscientists
with
extensive
experience
in
mining
and

mineral
exploration.
REL
are
proficient
in
the
funding
and
development
of
energy
and
mineral
projects,

including
gold,
base
metals,
uranium
and
geothermal
energy
in
several
countries.

The
Company
was

incorporated
in
Australia
in
2007
to
realise
potential
opportunities
and
investigate
new
technologies
in

the
energy
sector.
Since
early
2009
they
have
focused
on
underground
coal
gasification
projects,

particularly
in
Australia
and
the
United
Kingdom.


About
Thornton
New
Energy
Ltd.


Thornton
 New
 Energy
 Ltd,
 a
 subsidiary
 of
 BCG
 Energy
 Ltd,
 brings
 together
 skills
 from
 the
 oil
 and
 gas,

petrochemical
and
coal
industries
to
achieve
an
environmentally
sustainable
fuel
source
from
untapped

coal
 resources.
 In
 early
 2009
 Thornton
 New
 Energy
 was
 awarded
 the
 UK’s
 first
 underground
 coal

gasification
license
to
develop
a
major
coal
resource
located
deep
beneath
the
Firth
of
Forth.
Applying

cutting
edge
oil
and
gas
technology
to
the
coal
field
allows
the
company
to
exploit
coal
resources
that

otherwise
 would
 be
 too
 deep,
 difficult
 or
 expensive
 to
 recover.
 The
 company
 is
 focused
 on
 energy

generation
with
minimal
environmental
impact,
and
is
working
with
international
partners
to
speed
the

introduction
 of
 low
 emission
 power,
 fuels
 and
 chemicals
 together
 with
 carbon
 capture
 and

sequestration.
For
more
information,
visit
http://www.bcgenergy.co.uk


Page
3




Thornton
New
Energy
Ltd

32
Carden
Place

Aberdeen





PRESS
RELEASE




Contact:
Garron
Lees
 
 
 
 
 
 For
Immediate
Release

Tel.:
+44
(0)
7905
982
607
 
 
 
 
 20th
April
2010


 




About
Underground
Coal
gasification
(
UCG)

‐
Mining
without
mines


Underground
coal
gasification
is
very
simple
in
principle:
you
gasify
the
coal
in
the
seams
underground,

extracting
 just
 the
 gas
 –
 you
 are
 simultaneously
 extracting
 and
 processing
 the
 resource,
 leaving
 the

waste
in
place.
This
is
done
by
drilling
boreholes
into
the
coal,
and
injecting
mixtures
of
water
and
air
or

water
 and
 oxygen.
 The
 mixture
 plus
 the
 coal
 is
 ignited
 (through
 an
 ignition
 well)
 and
 the
 result
 is
 the

burning
 of
 the
 coal,
 creating
 hydrogen‐rich
 synthetic
 gas
 (syngas),
 which
 is
 extracted
 through
 a

production
well.


The
 syngas,
 once
 extracted,
 can
 either
 be
 piped
 or
 liquefied
 allowing
 it
 to
 be
 used
 as
 feedstock
 for

power
 generation,
 blast
 furnaces,
 or
 gas‐to‐liquids
 processes
 or
 as
 a
 raw
 material
 in
 fertiliser

production.
It
is
flexible
and
has
multiple
uses
and
commercial
opportunities.



UCG
technology
also
allows
CO2
sequestration,
the
ability
to
separate,
capture
and
potentially
store
the

CO2
produced
in
the
gasification
process.
Various
methods
can
be
used
to
deal
with
the
CO2
including

Enhanced
Oil
Recovery
‘EOR’,
storage
in
deep
saline
aquifers
or
used
raw
directly
in
blast
furnaces


UCG
 is
 a
 technique
 that
 allows
 coal
 deposits
 that
 either
 cannot
 be
 mined
 or
 where
 mining
 is
 not

commercially
viable
to
be
turned
underground
into
syngas,
a
synthetic
gas
made
up
of
Hydrogen
(H2),

Methane
 (CH4),
 Carbon
 Monoxide
 (CO)
 and
 Carbon
 Dioxide
 (CO2)
 that
 can
 be
 used
 as
 a
 power

generation
 feedstock.
 The
 implementation
 of
 UCG
 will
 allow
 countries
 to
 significantly
 expand
 their

usable
coal
reserves
and
meet
key
energy
policy
objectives
of
being
energy
self‐sufficient
whilst
meeting

international
carbon
emissions
commitments.
We
therefore
believe
that
UCG
will
play
a
significant
part

in
 future
 strategic
 energy
 policy
 planning
 for
 many
 coal
 rich
 nations
 and
 also
 presents
 attractive

investment
and
employment
opportunities.


The
 technique
 offers
 many
 financial
 and
 social
 benefits
 over
 traditional
 extraction
 methods,
 most

notably
lower
emissions,
as
no
coal
is
brought
to
the
surface
and
the
gas
can
be
processed
to
remove
its

CO2
content.
It
can
be
used
for
heating,
power
generation,
hydrogen
production,
or
the
manufacture
of

key
liquid
fuels
such
as
diesel
fuel
or
methanol.


Interest
in
UCG
as
a
secure
and
economic
source
of
energy
has
increased
over
the
past
five
years.



Most
 coal
 producing
 countries
 now
 have
 a
 comprehensive
 UCG
 programme
 comprising
 of
 feasibility

studies,
 planning
 demonstrations
 and
 commercial
 scale
 projects.
 In‐seam
 and
 directional
 drilling


Page
4




Thornton
New
Energy
Ltd

32
Carden
Place

Aberdeen





PRESS
RELEASE




Contact:
Garron
Lees
 
 
 
 
 
 For
Immediate
Release

Tel.:
+44
(0)
7905
982
607
 
 
 
 
 20th
April
2010


 

technology,
formulated
for
the
oil
and
gas
industry,
has
transformed
the
UCG
process,
making
it
easier,

more
successful
and
more
commercially
viable.


Projects
 have
 started
 in
 Australia,
 China,
 South
 Africa
 and
 India.
 Large‐scale
 operations
 (>1GW)
 were

developed
 by
 the
 Soviets
 in
 the
 1970s
 and
 at
 least
 one
 plant
 in
 Uzbekistan
 still
 operates
 today.
 Low

natural
 gas
 prices
 in
 the
 1990s
 eliminated
 much
 of
 the
 ongoing
 development
 in
 the
 US,
 although
 in

Europe
a
substantial
programme
of
development
in
deeper
seams
was
maintained
until
the
present
day.

Extensive
trials
in
Europe,
the
US,
Russia
and
Australia,
have
proven
the
technology
on
many
occasions.


Images
are
available


Page
5