Australian Coal Seam Gas (CSG), also known as coalbed methane (CBM), has successfully transitioned into mature development, consistently delivering LNG to global markets. Building on this foundation, new opportunities are emerging in low-permeability, deep Permian coal plays within Australia’s Cooper and Bowen Basins.

Across Asia, similar trends are unfolding. In China, the Ordos and Qinshui Basins represent the most advanced CBM plays, while the Junggar Basin and early-stage prospects in India remain in earlier phases of development. These low-permeability coal resources across the Asia-Pacific region will require technologies and development strategies like those proven in Australian and Chinese tight-coal projects.

Meanwhile, China’s Sichuan Basin continues to evolve as a major tight-gas and shale-gas centre, supported by substantial reserves and strong policy momentum despite significant geological and logistical hurdles. In Australia, the Velkerri Shales in the Beetaloo Basin are progressing toward initial development and may provide insight for future shale activity in remote areas of the Eastern Hemisphere. Although the Cooper Basin has long served as a tight-gas stronghold, efforts to develop lacustrine shales and basin-centred gas plays have seen mixed success. Recent progress also shows increasing promise in tight-gas and tight-oil plays compared to earlier attempts in the deep Bowen Basin.

The development trajectory of these unconventional plays, whether successful or stalled, depends on addressing key technical, project-management, regulatory, and community-related challenges unique to each basin. This session will tackle several critical questions shaping the future of unconventional resources in the region:

• What is the current level of maturity, and how far can Eastern Hemisphere unconventional developments progress?
• How significant are the untapped CSG resources outside China and Australia, and what progress has been made in unlocking them?
• Can these projects ultimately deliver resource and reserve volumes comparable to North American shale plays?
• Given the unique geological and logistical challenges of the region, how applicable are North American unconventional development strategies?
• Has the region achieved the critical mass necessary for sustained success?
• How can unconventional resource development align with tightening sustainability, regulatory, and environmental expectations?
• What strategies are needed to improve project economics amid moderate oil prices and rising development costs?