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CBM Could Fulfill National Goals, Such As T He Following

Coal bed methane is a significant natural gas resource. Global coal bed methane production is over 1 trillion cubic feet per year. The United States, China, India, Australia and other countries have substantial coal bed methane resources due to their large coal reserves. Coal bed methane is characterized by gas being stored through adsorption in the micro-pores and fractures of coal seams, unlike conventional gas reservoirs. Successful development of coal bed methane requires techniques to depressurize coal seams and dewater them to allow the gas to desorb and be produced.

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Sri Varalakshmi Mummidi
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50 views28 pages

CBM Could Fulfill National Goals, Such As T He Following

Coal bed methane is a significant natural gas resource. Global coal bed methane production is over 1 trillion cubic feet per year. The United States, China, India, Australia and other countries have substantial coal bed methane resources due to their large coal reserves. Coal bed methane is characterized by gas being stored through adsorption in the micro-pores and fractures of coal seams, unlike conventional gas reservoirs. Successful development of coal bed methane requires techniques to depressurize coal seams and dewater them to allow the gas to desorb and be produced.

Uploaded by

Sri Varalakshmi Mummidi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Introduction:

 CBM could fulfill national goals, such as t


he following:

Provide a clean-burning fuel.

Increase substantially the natural gas reserve


base.

Improve safety of coal mining.


Decrease methane vented to the atmosp
here from coal mines that might affect gl
obal warming.

Provide a means to use an abundant co


al resource that is often too deep to mine
potential exists internationally
 Spain, France, Poland, Australia, Canad
a, the Peoples Republic of China, Great
Britain, Germany, Zimbabwe, and Russi
a.

 United States

 60 countries have substantial coal reserv


es
 CBM, an emerging industry.

 An engineer from the oil and gas industr


y entering into a CBM project.

such as adsorption, diffusion, coal mechanical


properties, and stress-dependent permeabilities;
COAL BED METHANE - TECHNOLOGY
STATUS

 Coal is the most abundant nonrenewable


energy source in the world.

 Coal beds are a major source of natural


gas or methane.

 Methane is odorless, colorless and very f


lammable
 Methane build-up in coal mines has caus
ed many mine explosions, killing thousan
ds of miners worldwide.

 Natural gas is also found in and extracte


d from a variety of other geologic formati
ons.
Coalification

 Methane, along with water, nitrogen, and


carbon dioxide, is formed when buried pl
ant material is converted into coal by hea
t and chemical processes over geologic t
ime.

 The amount of methane in a coal bed de


pends on the quality and depth of the co
al deposit.
 The higher the energy value of the coal and
the deeper the coal bed beneath the surfac
e — resulting in more pressure from overlyi
ng rock formations — the more methane th
e deposit holds.

 Coal stores six to seven times more gas tha


n the equivalent rock volume of a conventio
nal gas reservoir.
 Coalification: a process in which plant bi
omass is converted by biological and ge
ological forces into coal.

 Deeper coal seams contain much larger


amounts of methane than shallow seam
s.
GLOBAL POTENTIAL OF COAL BED ME
THANE

 On a global basis, coalbed methane now


contributes more than 1TCF (trillion cubi
c feet) of gas per annum.

 Coalbed methane accounts for between


3 percent and 4 percent of all gas produc
tion in the U.S.A.
 China, the world’s largest coal producer,
has generated particular interest.

 Its coalbed methane resources are estim


ated to range from between 1,000 and 2,
800 TCF, many times larger than its conv
entional gas potential.
 In 1990, 110 mines recovered 15 BCF of
coalbed methane.

 Although modest, this production has de


monstrated to the Chinese authorities th
e viability of the resource.
 India’s coalbed methane resource potent
ial has been estimated at 280 TCF.

 Partnerships between U.S. and Indian co


mpanies are presently drilling and evalua
ting several large coalbed methane depo
sits.
 Bangladesh

 Philippines

 Several southern African countries

 Zimbabwe
 Eastern Europe, a number of coalbed methan
e ventures involving foreign investment and ap
plications of U.S. technology are reported to h
ave met with mixed success.

 In Australia, since the entry of major internatio


nal coalbed methane producers, such as Amo
co and Conoco, and the involvement of major
utilities such as Pacific Power and AGL, togeth
er with a number of smaller groups.
CHARACTERISTICS OF COAL BED MET
HANE RESOURCE

 In conventional sandstone and limestone re


servoirs, gas occurs in a free or dissolved p
hase, but in CBM reservoirs, gas exists alm
ost exclusively in a condensed, liquid-like st
ate.

 Coal has high micro-porosity with large inte


rnal surface areas and, therefore, adsorbs
and retains large amounts of gas.
 CBM reservoirs occur at various depths,
but most exploration focuses on reservoi
rs above 6000 ft depth.

 Shallow CBM reservoirs (<3000 ft) contai


n bacteriogenic gas.
 Deep CBM reservoirs (>3000 ft) contain
methane generated by the cracking of ke
rogen and oil in coal to gas.

 Generation of thermogenic gas increase


s exponentially as vitrinite reflectance (c
oal rank) increases
 Deep CBM reservoirs can be attractive e
xploration targets due to their great gene
ration potential and low water saturation.

 The infiltration of meteoric water can als


o lead to the generation of bacterial gas i
n shallow coal beds
COAL RESERVOIR CHARACTERISTICS

 Operators have relied greatly on technol


ogy from the mining and petroleum indus
tries to evaluate and develop coalbed m
ethane properties.

 Much of this conventional oil and gas tec


hnology applies to coalbed methane ope
rations, but often it must be modified.
 In some cases, coalbed methane operati
ons require entirely different techniques.
Coal reservoir characteristics:

 Coal is a source rock and a reservoir r


ock
The depositional environment and burial
history of the coal affect the composition of
the gas as well as the gas content,
diffusivity, permeability, and gas storage
capacity of the coal.
 The gas storage mechanism of coal

Large amounts of gas can be stored at low


pressures in coal reservoirs, the reservoir
pressure must be drawn down to a very
low level to achieve high gas recovery.
 The fracture system of coal reservoirs

Coals contain small (typically, several per


inch), regularly-spaced, naturally occurring
fractures called face cleats and butt cleats.
Coal reservoirs also contain larger-scale
natural fractures.
 Coal reservoirs often require pumping
water before gas is produced
Typically, water must be produced continu
ously from coal seams to reduce
reservoir pressure and release the gas.
The cost to treat and dispose of produced
water can be a critical factor in the
economics of a coalbed methane project.
The unique mechanical properties of co
al.

Coal is relatively compressible compared to the


rock in many conventional reservoirs. Thus, the
permeability of coal is more stress- dependent
than most reservoir rocks. The friable, cleated
nature of coal affects the success of hydraulic
fracturing treatments, and in certain locations
allows for cavitation techniques to dramatically
increase production.

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