3.3.1. Key Questions Related to Coal Seam Methane
In the late 1970s, very little quantitative information was available related to the gas
content of the Nation’s coal seams, beyond those being actively mined. The information
that was available was not public or easily accessed.
Because coal seams had not been
seen as a natural gas reservoir, no data were available on how coal seam wells should be
drilled and completed, how the reservoir should be stimulated, or how coal seams could
be economically produced. Key questions concerning the potential of coal seam gas as a
source of domestic supply were:
- What is the distribution of coal seam methane?
- How does the quality and producibility of coal seam methane vary with location?
- What are cost effective ways of recovering this methane resource?
- What are cost effective ways of utilizing this methane given its quality and location
relative to markets?
- How can methane that is being drained from coal seams prior to mining be captured
and conserved?
- How can methane recovery from coal seams be modeled to obtain predictions of well
productivity and resource recovery?
- How will systems for systems and techniques for producing methane from coal seams
work under actual field conditions?
- What are the legal and institutional constraints on development of coal seam gas in
the US?
The ranges of coal seam gas content, gas quality, and geographic location of coalbed
methane sources made it apparent that no single solution would be appropriate for all
cases.
Earlier Bureau of Mines work had indicated that economic gas
recovery/utilization might be possible via direct pipeline injection, conversion to LNG,
use for on-site power generation, or petrochemical production. In some cases, it was felt
that off-the-shelf technology could be modified for these applications (i.e., gas turbines,
LNG production units, and ammonia production units).
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