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CoalbedmethaneWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Coalbedmethane
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Coalbedmethane(CBMorcoalbedmethane),[1]coalbedgas,coalseamgas(CSG[1]),orcoalminemethane(CMM)[2]isaformofnaturalgas
extractedfromcoalbeds.[3]InrecentdecadesithasbecomeanimportantsourceofenergyinUnitedStates,Canada,Australia,andothercountries.
Thetermreferstomethaneadsorbedintothesolidmatrixofthecoal.Itiscalled'sweetgas'becauseofitslackofhydrogensulfide.Thepresenceofthis
gasiswellknownfromitsoccurrenceinundergroundcoalmining,whereitpresentsaserioussafetyrisk.Coalbedmethaneisdistinctfromatypical
sandstoneorotherconventionalgasreservoir,asthemethaneisstoredwithinthecoalbyaprocesscalledadsorption.Themethaneisinanearliquid
state,liningtheinsideofporeswithinthecoal(calledthematrix).Theopenfracturesinthecoal(calledthecleats)canalsocontainfreegasorcanbe
saturatedwithwater.
Unlikemuchnaturalgasfromconventionalreservoirs,coalbedmethanecontainsverylittleheavierhydrocarbonssuchaspropaneorbutane,andno
naturalgascondensate.Itoftencontainsuptoafewpercentcarbondioxide.

Contents
1History
2Reservoirproperties
2.1Porosity
2.2Adsorptioncapacity
2.3Fracturepermeability
2.4Thicknessofformationandinitialreservoirpressure
2.5Otherproperties
3Extraction
4Environmentalimpacts
4.1Methane
4.2Infrastructure
4.3Producedwater
4.3.1PilligaScrub
4.3.2PowderRiverBasin
4.4Groundwater
5Coalbedmethaneproducingareas
5.1Australia

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5.1Australia
5.2Canada
5.3UnitedKingdom
5.4UnitedStates
5.5Kazakhstan
5.6India
6References
7Externallinks

History
Coalbedmethanegrewoutofventingmethanefromcoalseams.Somecoalbedshavelongbeenknowntobe"gassy,"andasasafetymeasure,
boreholesweredrilledintotheseamsfromthesurface,andthemethaneallowedtoventbeforemining.
CoalbedmethaneasanaturalgasresourcereceivedamajorpushfromtheUSfederalgovernmentinthelate1970s.Federalpricecontrolswere
discouragingnaturalgasdrillingbykeepingnaturalgaspricesbelowmarketlevelsatthesametime,thegovernmentwantedtoencouragemoregas
production.TheUSDepartmentofEnergyfundedresearchintoanumberofunconventionalgassources,includingcoalbedmethane.Coalbedmethane
wasexemptedfromfederalpricecontrols,andwasalsogivenafederaltaxcredit.
InAustralia,commercialextractionofcoalseamgasbeganin1996intheBowenBasinofQueensland.[4]

Reservoirproperties
Gascontainedincoalbedmethaneismainlymethaneandtracequantitiesofethane,nitrogen,carbondioxideandfewothergases.Intrinsicpropertiesof
coalasfoundinnaturedeterminetheamountofgasthatcanberecovered.

Porosity
Theporosityofcoalbedreservoirsisusuallyverysmall,rangingfrom0.1to10%.

Adsorptioncapacity

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AdsorptioncapacityofcoalisdefinedasthevolumeofgasadsorbedperunitmassofcoalusuallyexpressedinSCF(standardcubicfeet,thevolumeat
standardpressureandtemperatureconditions)gas/tonofcoal.Thecapacitytoadsorbdependsontherankandqualityofcoal.Therangeisusually
between100to800SCF/tonformostcoalseamsfoundintheUS.Mostofthegasincoalbedsisintheadsorbedform.Whenthereservoirisputinto
production,waterinthefracturespacesispumpedofffirst.Thisleadstoareductionofpressureenhancingdesorptionofgasfromthematrix.

Fracturepermeability
Asdiscussedbefore,thefracturepermeabilityactsasthemajorchannelforthegastoflow.Thehigherthepermeability,thehigherthegasproduction.
FormostcoalseamsfoundintheUS,thepermeabilityliesintherangeof0.150milliDarcies.Thepermeabilityoffracturedreservoirschangeswiththe
stressappliedtothem.Coaldisplaysastresssensitivepermeabilityandthisprocessplaysanimportantroleduringstimulationandproduction
operations.

Thicknessofformationandinitialreservoirpressure
Thethicknessoftheformationmaynotbedirectlyproportionaltothevolumeofgasproducedinsomeareas.
Forexample,ithasbeenobservedintheCherokeeBasininSoutheastKansasthatawellwithasinglezoneof1to2feet(0.3to0.6m)ofpaycan
produceexcellentgasrates,whereasanalternativeformationwithtwicethethicknesscanproducenexttonothing.Somecoal(andshale)formations
mayhavehighgasconcentrationsregardlessoftheformation'sthickness,probablyduetootherfactorsofthearea'sgeology.
Thepressuredifferencebetweenthewellblockandthesandfaceshouldbeashighaspossibleasisthecasewithanyproducingreservoiringeneral.

Otherproperties
Otheraffectingparametersincludecoaldensity,initialgasphaseconcentration,criticalgassaturation,irreduciblewatersaturation,relativepermeability
towaterandgasatconditionsofSw=1.0andSg=1Swirreduciblerespectively.

Extraction
Mainarticle:Coalbedmethaneextraction
Toextractthegas,asteelencasedholeisdrilledintothecoalseam100to1,500metres(330to4,920ft)belowground.Asthepressurewithinthecoal
seamdeclinesduetonaturalproductionorthepumpingofwaterfromthecoalbed,bothgasandproducedwatercometothesurfacethroughtubing.
Thenthegasissenttoacompressorstationandintonaturalgaspipelines.Theproducedwateriseitherreinjectedintoisolatedformations,releasedinto
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streams,usedforirrigation,orsenttoevaporationponds.Thewatertypicallycontainsdissolvedsolidssuchassodiumbicarbonateandchloridebut
variesdependingontheformationgeology.
Coalbedmethanewellsoftenproduceatlowergasratesthanconventionalreservoirs,typicallypeakingatnear300,000cubicfeet(8,500m3)perday
(about0.100m/s),andcanhavelargeinitialcosts.TheproductionprofilesofCBMwellsaretypicallycharacterizedbya"negativedecline"inwhich
thegasproductionrateinitiallyincreasesasthewaterispumpedoffandgasbeginstodesorbandflow.AdryCBM
wellissimilartoastandardgaswell.
Themethanedesorptionprocessfollowsacurve(ofgascontentvs.reservoirpressure)calledaLangmuirisotherm.
Theisothermcanbeanalyticallydescribedbyamaximumgascontent(atinfinitepressure),andthepressureat
whichhalfthatgasexistswithinthecoal.Theseparameters(calledtheLangmuirvolumeandLangmuirpressure,
respectively)arepropertiesofthecoal,andvarywidely.AcoalinAlabamaandacoalinColoradomayhave
radicallydifferentLangmuirparameters,despiteotherwisesimilarcoalproperties.
Asproductionoccursfromacoalreservoir,thechangesinpressurearebelievedtocausechangesintheporosityand
permeabilityofthecoal.Thisiscommonlyknownasmatrixshrinkage/swelling.Asthegasisdesorbed,thepressure
exertedbythegasinsidetheporesdecreases,causingthemtoshrinkinsizeandrestrictinggasflowthroughthe
coal.Astheporesshrink,theoverallmatrixshrinksaswell,whichmayeventuallyincreasethespacethegascan
travelthrough(thecleats),increasinggasflow.
ThepotentialofaparticularcoalbedasaCBMsourcedependsonthefollowingcriteria.Cleatdensity/intensity:
cleatsarejointsconfinedwithincoalsheets.Theyimpartpermeabilitytothecoalseam.Ahighcleatdensityis
requiredforprofitableexploitationofCBM.Alsoimportantisthemaceralcomposition:maceralisa
microscopic,homogeneous,petrographicentityofacorrespondingsedimentaryrock.Ahighvitrinite
compositionisidealforCBMextraction,whileinertinitehampersthesame.

Diagramofacoalbedmethane
well(USDOE)

TherankofcoalhasalsobeenlinkedtoCBMcontent:avitrinitereflectanceof0.81.5%hasbeenfoundto
implyhigherproductivityofthecoalbed.
Thegascompositionmustbeconsidered,becausenaturalgasappliancesaredesignedforgaswithaheating
valueofabout1,000BTU(Britishthermalunits)percubicfoot,ornearlypuremethane.Ifthegascontainsmore
thanafewpercentnonflammablegasessuchasnitrogenorcarbondioxide,eitherthesewillhavetoberemoved
oritwillhavetobeblendedwithhigherBTUgastoachievepipelinequality.Ifthemethanecompositionofthe
coalbedgasislessthan92%,itmaynotbecommerciallymarketable.

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Typicalproductionprofileofa
coalbedmethanewell(USGS)

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Environmentalimpacts
Methane
Aswithallcarbonbasedfossilfuels,burningcoalbedmethanereleasescarbondioxide(CO2)intotheatmosphere.Itseffectasgreenhousegaswas
firstlyanalyzedbychemistandphysicistSvanteArrhenius.CBMproductionalsoentailsleaksoffugitivemethaneintotheatmosphere.Methaneisrated
ashaving72timestheeffectonglobalwarmingperunitofmassthanCO2.over20years,[5]Analysisoflifecyclegreenhousegasemissionsofenergy
sourcesindicatesthatgeneratingelectricityfromCBM,aswithconventionalnaturalgas,haslessthanhalfthegreenhousegaseffectofcoal.[6]
IntheUnitedStates,methaneescapingfromcoalduringminingamountsto10percentoftotalmethaneemissions.Recoveryofcoalminemethanein
advanceofminingisseenasamajoropportunitytoreducemethaneemissions.[7]

Infrastructure
CBMwellsareconnectedbyanetworkofroads,pipelines,andcompressorstations.Overtime,wellsmaybespacedmorecloselyinordertoextractthe
remainingmethane.

Producedwater
Theproducedwaterbroughttothesurfaceasabyproductofgasextractionvariesgreatlyinqualityfromareatoarea,butmaycontainundesirable
concentrationsofdissolvedsubstancessuchassalts,naturallypresentchemicals,heavymetalsandradionuclides.[8]
PilligaScrub
In2012EasternStarGaswasfinedfor"dischargingpollutedwatercontaininghighlevelsofsaltintoBohenaCreek"inthePilligaScrub.[9]Therewere
"16spillsorleaksofcontaminatedwater"including"seriousspillsofsalinewaterintowoodlandandacreek."[10]In2012,aNSWLegislative
Council[11]inquirycriticisedtheuseofopenholdingponds,recommendingthat"theNSWGovernmentbantheopenstorageofproducedwater."[12][11]
PowderRiverBasin

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Notallcoalbedmethaneproducedwaterissalineorotherwiseundesirable.WaterfromcoalbedmethanewellsinthePowderRiverBasinofWyoming,
US,commonlymeetsfederaldrinkingwaterstandards,andiswidelyusedintheareatowaterlivestock.[13]Itsuseforirrigationislimitedbyits
relativelyhighsodiumadsorptionratio.

Groundwater
Dependingonaquiferconnectivity,waterwithdrawalmaydepressaquifersoveralargeareaandaffectgroundwaterflows.[14]InAustralia,theCBM
industryestimatesextractionof126,000millionlitres(3.3 1010USgallons)to280,000millionlitres(7.4 1010USgallons)ofgroundwaterperyear
whiletheNationalWaterCommissionestimatesextractionabove300,000millionlitres(7.9 1010USgallons)ayear.[8]

Coalbedmethaneproducingareas
Australia
Seealso:CoalinAustralia
Commercialrecoveryofcoalseamgas(CSG)beganinAustraliain1996.Asof2013,coalseamgas,fromQueenslandandNewSouthWales,madeup
abouttenpercentofAustralia'sgasproduction.Demonstratedreserveswereestimatedtobe33trillioncubicfeetasofJanuary2012.[15]
BowenBasin
SuratBasin
SydneyBasin

Canada
InCanada,BritishColumbiaisestimatedtohaveapproximately90trillioncubicfeet(2.5trillioncubicmetres)ofcoalbedgas.Alberta,in2013theonly
provincewithcommercialcoalbedmethanewells,isestimatedtohaveapproximately170trillioncubicfeet(4.8trillioncubicmetres)ofeconomically
recoverablecoalbedmethane.[16]

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Coalbedmethaneisconsideredanonrenewableresource,althoughtheAlbertaResearchCouncil,AlbertaGeologicalSurveyandothershaveargued
coalbedmethaneisarenewableresourcebecausethebacterialactionthatformedthemethaneisongoing.Thisissubjecttodebatesinceithasalsobeen
shownthatthedewateringthataccompaniesCBMproductiondestroystheconditionsneededforthebacteriatoproducemethane[17]andtherateof
formationofadditionalmethaneisundetermined.ThisdebateiscurrentlycausingarightofownershipissueintheCanadianprovinceofAlberta,as
onlynonrenewableresourcescanlegallybeownedbytheprovince.[18]
WesternCanadianSedimentaryBasin

UnitedKingdom
AlthoughgasinplaceinBritain'scoalfieldshasbeenestimatedtobe2,900billioncubicmeters,itmaybethataslittleasonepercentmightbe
economicallyrecoverable.Britain'sCBMpotentialislargelyuntested.Somemethaneisextractedbycoalmineventingoperations,andburnedto
generateelectricity.Assessmentbyprivateindustryofcoalbedmethanewellsindependentofminingbeganin2008,when55onshoreexploration
licenceswereissued,covering7,000squarekilometersofpotentialcoalbedmethaneareas.IGasEnergybecamethefirstintheUKtocommercially
extractcoalbedmethaneseparatefrommineventingasof2012,theIgascoalbedmethanewellsatDoeGreen,extractinggasforelectricalgeneration,
weretheonlycommercialCBMwellsintheUK.[19]

UnitedStates
Mainarticle:CoalbedmethaneintheUnitedStates
UnitedStatescoalbedmethaneproductionin2011was1.76trillioncubicfeet(TCF),7.3percentofallUSdrygasproductionthatyear.The2011
productionwasdownfromthepeakof1.97TCFin2008.[20]MostCBMproductioncamefromtheRockyMountainstatesofColorado,Wyoming,and
NewMexico.

Kazakhstan
Kazakhstancouldwitnessthedevelopmentofalargecoalbedmethane(CBM)sectoroverthecomingdecades,accordingtoindustryprofessionals.[21]
Preliminaryresearchsuggeststheremaybeasmuchas900billionm3ofgasinKazakhstansmaincoalfields85%ofallreservesinKazakhstan.

India

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SourceofContentCoalBedMethaneInIndia(http://www.methanetomarketsindia.com/news/GEECL.pdf)andIndiaPRWire.com
Withthecompletionofthedrillingof23verticalproductionwellsbyGEECL,CoalBedMethanewouldbeavailableinIndiaforcommercialsale
purposefrom14thofJuly07pricedatrupees30perKgforCNG.Initially90%oftheCBMwouldbedistributedamongvehiclesasCNGgas.GEECL
isalsosettingupthefirstCBMstationinSEAsiaandthesamewillbelocateinIndiainthecityofAsansolinWestBengal.Also,GEECListhefirst
companywhosefirstfielddevelopmentplanhasbeenapproved.
Mr.PrashantModi,PresidentandChiefOperatingOfficer,GEECLsaid,WeareproudtobeIndiasfirstprivatesectorcompanythathasventuredinto
CoalBedMethaneexploration,production,marketinganddistribution.Withthenationrequiringhigherenergysourcestosustainitsdevelopmentpace,
weareconfidentthatCBMwillplayanimportantroleasoneoftheprimeenergysourceforthefuturegenerations.

References
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"JargonBuster".BGGroup.Retrieved18July2010.
"CoalMineMethane".ClarkEnergy.Retrieved1July2014.
CoalGas(http://www.clarkeenergy.com/gastype/coalgas/),www.clarkeenergy.com,retrieved25.11.2011
GeoscienceAustralia,Coalseamgas(http://www.ga.gov.au/energy/petroleumresources/coalseamgas.html),accessed10Oct.2013.
IPCCFourthAssessmentReport,Table2.14,Chap.2,p.212(http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessmentreport/ar4/wg1/ar4wg1chapter2.pdf)
TimothyJ.Skone,Lifecycleanalysis(http://www.marcellus.psu.edu/resources/PDFs/NETLlifecycle.pdf),12May2011.
USEnvironmentalProtectionAgency,IdentifyingOpportunitiesforMethaneRecoveryatU.S.CoalMines
(http://www.epa.gov/coalbed/docs/profiles_2008_final.pdf),EPA430K04003,Sept.2008(RevisedJan.2009).
"Thecoalseamgasrush".ABCNewsOnline.AustralianBroadcastingCorporation.April2012.Retrieved26September2013.
"EasternStarGasfinedforpollutioninthePilliga".OfficeofEnvironmentandHeritagewebsite.OfficeofEnvironmentandHeritage.6July2012.Retrieved
26September2012.
Validakis,Vicky(13June2013)."SantostobeprosecutedforPilligapollution".AustralianMining.CirrusMedia.Retrieved26September2013.
"Coalseamgas(Inquiry)".ParliamentofNewSouthWaleswebsite.StateofNewSouthWales(NSWParliament).Retrieved26September2013.
Coutts,Sharona(26October2012)."PillagingThePilliga".TheGlobalMail.DigitalGlobalMail.Retrieved26September2013.
USEPA,[EvaluationofImpactstoUndergroundSourcesofDrinkingWaterbyHydraulicFracturingofCoalbedMethaneReservoirs,ThePowderRiverBasin],
June2004,EPA816R04003Attachment5.
MontanaStateUniversityFrequentlyAskedQuestionsCoalBedMethane(CBM)(http://waterquality.montana.edu/docs/methane/cbmfaq.shtml)
GeoscienceAustralia,Coalseamgasfactsheet(http://www.australianminesatlas.gov.au/education/fact_sheets/coal_seam_gas.html#history),accessed10Oct.2013.
JohnSquarekandMikeDawson,CoalbedmethaneexpandsinCanada,Oil&GasJournal,24July2006,p.3740.
"RenewableNaturalGas?TheDiscoveryofActiveMethaneBiogenesisinCoalbeds".GreenCarCongress.16November2004.Retrieved20111221.
"TELUS,news,headlines,stories,breaking,canada,canadian,national".Mytelus.com.Retrieved20111221.
DECC,TheUnconventionalHydrocarbonResourcesofBritain'sOnshoreBasinsCoalbedMethane
(https://www.og.decc.gov.uk/UKpromote/onshore_paper/Promote_UK_CBM.pdf),2012.
USEnergyInformationAdministration,Coalbedmethaneproduction(http://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/ng_prod_coalbed_s1_a.htm),accessed9Oct.2013.
"CoalbedmethaneinKazakhstan".worldcoal.com.July23,2014.

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Externallinks
ThelatestCBMnews(http://www.cbmreview.com)
U.S.GeologicalSurveypageonCBM(http://energy.usgs.gov/factsheets/Coalbed/coalmeth.html)
U.S.EnvironmentalProtectionAgencypageonCBM(http://www.epa.gov/coalbed/)
BritishColumbiaMinistryofEnergy,MinesandPetroleumResourcesguidetocoalbedgas(http://www.em.gov.bc.ca/subwebs/coalbedgas/)
KansasGeologicalSurveyguidetoCoalbedMethane(http://www.kgs.ku.edu/PRS/publication/2004/AAPG/Coalbed/)
CoalbedMethaneGas(http://www.ingenieriadepetroleo.com/2012/10/coalbedmethanegas.html/)
Coalseamgas:bythenumbers(http://www.abc.net.au/news/specials/coalseamgasbythenumbers/)AustralianBroadcastingCorporation
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Coalbed_methane&oldid=687456858"
Categories: Methane Coal Unconventionalgas Alternativefuels
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