Hydrocarbons from Coal Coalbed Methane

Heike Schellenberger Department of Geology, Bergakademie Freiberg/Saxony, Germany

Abstract. In the Western United States natural gas from coalbed methane plays an important role and is mentioned to be the cleanest burning fossil fuel. The coalbed methane production has expanded enormously over the past decade. This paper gives an overview of what coalbed methane is and where the resources are located both in the United States and International, its historical development as well as how they are extracted. Although CBM by now is mentioned to be a relatively important natural energy source there are some problems, especially disposing produced water, which are also named in this paper. The last part deals with a comparison of coalbed methane and conventional natural gas.

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Introduction
Hydrocarbons (CxHy) only consist of the elements carbon (C) and hydrogen (H). They contain a carbon backbone where hydrogen atoms are bounded. Methane is the simplest hydrocarbon and is also called swamp or marsh gas. It has one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms (CH4). Coalbed Methane (CBM) is simply methane found in coal seams. It is generated either from a biological process as a result of microbial action or from a thermal process as a result of increasing heat with depth of the coal. With increasing coalification, coals become enriched in carbon as large amounts of volatile matter rich in hydrogen and oxygen are released. Methane, carbon dioxide and water are the most important by-products of this devolatilization process. The generation of methane and associated hydrocarbons is thermal in origin and occurs at ranks of high-volatile bituminous and higher (shown in Figure 1).

Figure 1: Calculated amounts of gases generated from coal during coalification. Modified from Hunt (1979)

Most of the coalbed methane is stored within the molecular structure of the coal and some is stored in the fractures or cleats of the coal or dissolved in the water trapped in the fractures. Coals can generally generate more gas than they can absorb and store. Methane gas is used to heat homes, generate electricity and as a fuel for cars, trucks and public transit.

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Hydrocarbons from Coal Coalbed Methane

History of Coalbed Methane

In history of mining, coalbed methane has considered to be one of the greatest dangers to deep coal mining. The methane gas was intentionally vented to prevent accidental explosions or asphyxiation, so commercial extraction of coalbed methane was economically unfeasible. Coalbed methane production now became practical because of modern extraction methods. The first attempts to isolate and pipe gas from a coal mine were occurred in Great Britain as early as 1733. The first recorded successful use of a vertical borehole to drain gas from virgin coal was occurred in the Mansfield Colliery (Ruhr/Germany) in 1943. The first serious research concerning coalbed methane production in the United States occurred in the 1970s with a test project in the Black Warrior basin in Alabama. In the 1980s the Gas Research Institute began its coalbed methane explores. Their activities dealed with cooperative well studies, reservoir engineering analysis, fracturing and completion work as well as operational improvements and recompletion of wells. An indicator for coalbed methane has emerged as a valuable energy resource is the increased production of CBM in the Appalachian, Black Warrior, San Juan, Piceance, Powder River and Greater Green River Basins. Coalbed methane production increased to 858 billion cubic feet in 1994. The number of coalbed methane wells in the nation had grown from a handful in 1982 to more than 6,600 in 1992. From 1992 to 1994 coalbed methane production of the United States increased by 50 percent.

Coalbed Methane Production

In the United States coalbed methane is produced in commercial quantities since 1981. Coal as gas reservoir can be distinguished in three ways from other gas reservoirs. First: the gas is stored in the adsorbed state on the surface of the coal; second: the average reservoir pressure must be reduced before a production in significant quantities can be done; third: water is usually presented in the reservoir and is normally co-produced with the gas. These requires a low wellhead pressure, separation of gas and water at the surface, compression of gas to delivery pressure and procedures to handle and dispose of produced water. Production statistics in the U.S. show that the largest amount of gas is produced in the San Juan basin (245 billion cubic feet in 1991). In addition coalbed gas is produced in the Black Warrior basin (66 billion cubic feet in 1991), Central Appalachian, Raton, Piceance, Greater Green River, Powder River, Uinta (Utah) and Cherokee (Kansas) basins. The total gas productions of these basins come to 310 billion cubic feet in 1991.

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Figure 2: Major Coalbed Methane Basins in the United States. Source: de Albuquerque S. (2002).

International interests in coalbed gas production was originally spurred because of mining related gas releases, but is now being viewed as a relatively inexpensive source of energy. Despite of this fact there are ongoing activities of natural gas production from coal seams in the following countries: Canada, Australia, China, Poland, United Kingdom, Zimbabwe, Spain, France, Belgium, Hungary and New Zealand (from Boyer, 1992). In Table 1 the worldwide coalbed methane resources are estimated (from Boyer 1992).
Table 1: World resources of coalbed gas (1991)

Country China Soviet Union Australia United States Canada Poland Europe South Africa Africa TOTALS

Gas Resources (trillion cubic feet) 700 - 2800 1500 - 2800 350 400 500 - 2600 50 250 140 100 3990 - 9490

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Hydrocarbons from Coal Coalbed Methane

Figure 3 illustrates a typical production curve for coalbed methane. Large amounts of water are initially produced, but water production declines as reservoir pressure is reduced. The onset of gas production is dependent on the relationship between coal gas content, reservoir pressure and the sorption isotherm (McElhiney et al., 1989).

Figure 3: A typical production profile for a coalbed methane well. Source: Brown, W. T. (2002).

Production Equipment
The design of the surface production facilities begins with an area where suitable reservoir properties for gas production were determined, but before drilling a large number of wells. The relationship of surface facilities and the location of wells needs to account the expected geologic and reservoir properties, environmental concerns and the topography of that area. A coalbed methane well field consists of different parts, which are production wells, gathering lines, separators, compressors and dehydration facilities (shown in Figure 4). Also roads, utilities and field offices need to be there. In each development, water and gas from each well site are transported to a single treating site serving water disposal, gas treating, central compression and sales.

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Figure 4: Schematic of a typical coalbed methane production facility. Adapted from McCormick Resources brochure, 1991

Typical Production Well Configuration

Coalbed gas production starts at the bottom of the well. CBM wells are often drilled through several gas-containing formations that can be perforated in a number of zones. The reservoir pressure is reduced by drilling the borehole below the lowest producing zone to provide a sump. Thus water drains into this sump before being pumped to the surface. Gas and water are won with a configuration that provides an initially separation in the well bore. This procedure has been adapted from oil field applications and is known to be very effective. Water is normally lifted by pumping through a tubing string with a diameter of10 or 22 mm and gas is produced up the annulus between the water-production tubing and the casing (e.g.: diameter of 180 or 200 mm in the San Juan basin). Besides producing water and gas there also solid materials, like coal fines or stimulation sand must be regarded, so different precautions are used to reduce the occurrence of fines migration. The well sump, for example is used for collecting solids to minimize debris that enter pumps or surface equipment. Additionally, at the pump intake a screen is used for reducing solids that enter the production system. However, the screens can get plugged with fines and so they require cleaning. Slow changes to wellhead pressure during the operation as well as the sufficient clearance between the tubing and casing also reduce the rate of fines migration.

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Hydrocarbons from Coal Coalbed Methane

Problems with Coalbed Methane Development

The problems with coalbed methane developments are composed of several environmental and health hazards. Methods to dispose of produced water and treatment costs depend on the amount of produced water and its quality. In some states the waterquality from a CBM well is like water from oil or gas well and only can disposed by deep well injection. Often water is discharged into surface stream or rivers which minimize costs and affect a rapid grow rate of industry. This requires a water quality like any other industrial or municipal waste stream. For disposing water on this way a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit (NPDES) must be obtained and is given by each state by themself. Dangers of stream discharge are flooding the property of landowners, causing erosion, damaging soils and plants, as well as posing dangers to fish and aquatic life. Additionally ways for water disposing are land application, evaporation, off-site commercial disposal, reuse of water in hydraulic stimulation and reverse osmosis, but only on an experimental basis. In cold regions, it is possible to freeze water in the winter, collect the salts which have been separated from the water and dispose or utilize them separately. Other problems are contamination of aquifers because of gas-migration through vertical fissures; venting and seeping of methane and other chemicals like carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide; underground fires exacerbated by coalbed methane development, when water is removed to release the gas and oxygen gets in; air pollution for the reason that carbon dioxide occur naturally with coalbed methane and many producers vent this gas directly into the atmosphere; the surface production facilities leave scars that will last for decades, wildlife habitats get fragmented and migration corridors are disrupted.

Coalbed Methane at San Juan basin

The San Juan Basin is located in south-western Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. Its expanse amounts about 19,000 km2 and contains 200 billion metric tons of coal resource and 1.4 trillion m3 of coalbed methane of the Upper Fruitland Formation coals. 70 to 850 billion m3 of this gas may be technically recoverable. Additionally coal resources and coalbed methane exists in the Upper Cretaceous Menefee Formation. The coal thickness in the Fruitland Formation is about 6 to 24 m and the gas content ranges from 8 to 19 m3 per tonnes. The first commercial Fruitland coalbed methane well was drilled in 1953. The well is completed with a conventional technique, producing 1.4 billion cubic feet of gas over the last 30 years. In 1977 AMOCO begins development of the Cedar Hill field using conventional open-hole completions with gravel packs. Problems with coal fines plugging gravel packs lead to adoption of cased-hole completions for subsequent wells. From 1983 to 1985 cased-hole completions remain predominant technique. Also in 1985 the MERIDIAN Company begins experimenting with the open-hole cavity techniques. Two years later, due to

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MERIDIANs success with the cavity technique, it gains acceptance as the technique of choice in the high potential fairway region. Since 1988 efforts to apply the open-hole cavity technique outside of the fairway prove unsuccessful, and cased-hole completions remain the prevalent technique. In Figure 5 the evolution of coalbed methane production in the San Juan basin from 1988 to 2001 is represented. It is shown that the produced gas quantity grown up rapidly from some hundred to several thousand million cubic feet per day.

Figure 5: Coalbed methane production of the San Juan basin. Source: C. Cullicott et al. figured in Bryner, G. (2002).

Comparison of Conventional Natural Gas and Coalbed Methane

Methane is a major component of natural gas, and coalbed methane can be used in the same way as conventional gas. Conventional gas is generated in shale and limestone formations as a consequence of temperature and pressure transforming organic matter into hydrocarbons. It migrates upward until it is trapped by a geologic fault or fold. Coalbed methane is stored in an adsorbed state on the surface of the coal and before it can be produced in significant quantities, the average reservoir pressure must be reduced as well as water that is usually present in the reservoir and normally co-produced with the coalbed methane. The competitiveness of coalbed methane with conventional natural gas is given by the rate of gas production, the production costs, markets and economies of scale. In conventional gas wells, production peaks early followed by declining over time whereas water production eventually increases. At coalbed methane extraction, large quantities of water are produced during the initial phase afterwards the water volume declines as the pressure of the reservoir falls. The shape of the production curve is a function of the production techniques that consists of well spacing,

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Hydrocarbons from Coal Coalbed Methane

reservoir permeability and pressure as well as water saturation (Figure 6). The length of time, which is necessary to achieve peaks while gas production increases in low permeability reservoirs and increased well density. CBM wells usually produce gas at lower rates than conventional gas wells. Also the cost of water disposal is significant less than to conventional development. Coalbed methane development has a very short period of time wells produce gas. In general wells produce gas during a length of 7 to 10 years.

Figure 6: Comparing coalbed methane and conventional natural gas development. Source: Brown, W. T. (2002).

The economically comparison of CBM and conventional natural gas is using the following three criteria: gas reserves per well, gas reserves per $ 1 million of investment and finding costs per million cubic feet (Mcf). At Table 2 those criteria are confronted by comparing conventional natural gas with the main CBM producing areas in the United States of the Warrior basin and San Juan basin.
Table 2: Productivity and investment costs for conventional natural gas compared with the equivalent costs for coalbed methane. Source: Law, B. E. and D. D. Rice. (1993).
Reserves / $ 1 MM Investment 1.4 Bcf Investment Costs ($/Mcf) $0.68

Reserves/Well 1. Conventional Natural Gas 2. Coalbed Methane - Warrior Basin - San Juan Basin 2 Bcf

0.5 Bcf 2 Bcf

1.5 - 1.6 Bcf 3 - 4 Bcf

$0.60 - $0.80 $0.25 - $0.35

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Conclusion
The potential value of coalbed methane as a recoverable resource was recognized by Lawall & Morris in 1934 and Burke & Parry in 1936. In the U.S. it is produced in commercial quantities since 1981. In Europe it became widely used throughout the coal fields in the 1940s. Coalbed methane is stored in the coal upon or within the molecular structure or within the micropores and cleats. Normally, water is coproduced and usually presented in the reservoir. After drilling the coals seam, the water, and the gas are separately pumped up to the surface. Coalbeds have a large surface so they can store 6 to 7 times more gas than the equivalent rock volume in a conventional gas reservoir. In spite of some problems with CBM development, especially to dispose the produced water, coalbed methane represents a major new international source of natural gas. So future markets for natural gas are an increased use as industrial boiler fuel, for electrical power generation, for mass transit in large cities, as fleet fuelling for governments and large companies as well as the conversion of private vehicles as compressed natural gas refuelling stations are built.

References
B. E. Law and D. D. Rice. Hydrocarbons from Coal. AAPG Studies in Geology #38. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1993. M. Mastalerz, M.Glikson and S. D. Golding. Coalbed Methane: Scientific, Environmental and Economic Evaluation. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht/Boston/London, 1999. G. Bryner. Coalbed Methane Development in the intermountain West. Natural Resources Law Center, University of Colorado School of Law, July 2002. C. Cullicott, C. Dunmire, J. Brown and C. Calwell. Coalbed Methane in the San Juan Basin of Colorado and New Mexico. Ecos Consulting. W. T. Brown and S. de Albuquerque. Coalbed Methane Conference. NRLC. April 45, 2002