TMK Energy has appointed a highly experienced US-based petroleum engineer and fresh investor onto the company register, Steve Skinner, as its chief operating officer to spearhead the commercialisation of its massive Gurvantes XXXV coal seam gas project in Mongolia.

The Denver-based executive brings more than 25 years of oil and gas experience to the table, including a significant stint working in the San Juan Basin, one of the world’s most prolific coal seam gas (CSG) producing regions.

Skinner’s career includes extensive work with private equity groups in the US, taking early-stage unconventional oil and gas assets through the development cycle and into production, delivering multiple successful exits along the way.

The new hire also has a history of putting his own skin in the game which he again demonstrated as part of a group of private equity investors who together tipped in as cornerstone investors into TMK earlier in the year.

′ The 2026 work program is focussed on increasing gas production and enhancing capital efficiency.′TMK Energy chief execuitive officer Dougal Ferguson

TMK Energy chief executive officer Dougal Ferguson said: “Steve initially invested in TMK in March 2026 and formed part of a cornerstone investment from highly experienced private equity energy executives. This is a key appointment for the Company, and I look forward to Steve’s positive contribution as we transition from early-stage appraisal through to gas production and commercialisation of the enormous, discovered gas resource in the Gurvantes XXXV CSG Project.”

Skinner takes the helm of a project that appears to be not only vast in scale but is also producing increasingly positive signs from ongoing appraisal work. The Gurvantes project boasts an independently certified 1.2 trillion cubic feet of gas contingent resource.

Notably, the resource figure is derived from just 60 square kilometres of the project’s sprawling 8400-square-kilometre tenure, suggesting the true potential remains to be seen. The company has flagged a prospective resource of 5.3 trillion cubic feet across the broader Mongolian South Gobi basin. Adding to its strategic value, the project is located less than 20 kilometres from the Chinese border, placing it squarely on the doorstep of one of the world’s largest energy markets.

Recent results from TMK’s seven pilot wells have been promising. Average gas production during June rose to 26,200 standard cubic feet per day. The result was driven by its star pilot well, LF-07, which delivered a second material gas spike of 30,000 standard cubic feet per day during June.

The field also managed to deliver higher overall gas production despite another well being offline for the entire month of June while awaiting a replacement pump. And so far, this month well LF-07 has produced 14,000 to 15,000 standard cubic feet per day - about 10 to 20 per cent higher than its average rate in June.

The company says the underlying gas flow from the field appears to be strengthening as the dewatering process continues to draw down pressure in the coal seams and release the gas.

With this type of solid data in hand, Skinner will now oversee the 2026 work program, expected to kick off in August. The program includes drilling up to three new pilot production wells in addition to a comprehensive workover plan designed to improve long-term production.

The company is well-funded for the work, having recently shored up its balance sheet with a heavily oversubscribed $6 million placement, leaving it with a healthy $6.3 million in cash and no debt at the end of the March quarter.

In a parallel move to prove up the project’s economics, TMK is also advancing a 1-megawatt gas-to-power project with its local partner, Dashvaanjil Group.

The operational side has also received a boost, with the recent appointment of seasoned oil and gas veteran Danny Chong as production manager. Chong brings more than a decade of experience from Australian coal seam gas majors Origin Energy and Santos.

With the company aiming to turn its giant gas discovery into a producing asset, TMK has now handed the keys to a specialist who has real skin in the game and has also previously walked the path from appraisal to production. With a 1.2 trillion cubic foot resource already in the bag and a further 5.3 trillion more to chase, in the case of TMK that path could be well worth the trip.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au