3.3.5. Subsequent Research Related to Methane Recovery from Coalbeds
With the winding down of DOE-funded CBM research, GRI’s research program in
coalbed methane grew dramatically.
Some of GRI’s early work continued work that had
been initiated by DOE, using some of the same contractors and industry partners.
GRI’s
efforts focused on:
- Technology Development (formation evaluation, fracturing effectiveness and
reservoir modeling).
- Field Tests (deep coal fracturing tests and multizone production tests).
- Management (program evaluation and technology transfer to industry).
GRI began in 1981 with a modest CBM R&D effort in funding four projects: a drilling
fluids study undertaken by the Institute of Gas Technology (IGT), a coalbed dewatering
study by TRW, a reservoir modeling effort underway with U.S. Steel, and in-house
fracture stimulation testing. In 1982, with the scale-back of the DOE program, GRI
initiated seven additional major projects, including field tests with U.S. Steel (in
Alabama’s Warrior Basin) and Resource Enterprises (in the Southern Piceance Basin).
GRI also began publishing a quarterly report on their R&D efforts and the growing
amount of industry activity related to coalbed methane. GRI also helped to sponsor a
regular symposium on the topic.
GRI CBM R&D continued during the shift from a resource-based program to a
technology-based program in the mid-1990s. Significant new efforts related to CBM
R&D ended in the late 1990s. A complete listing of GRI reports on CBM topics is
provided within the spreadsheet bibliography accompanying this report.
By the end of the decade, CBM production was more than six times the volume produced
in 1990, and industry was effectively utilizing much of the information and technology
that had been initiated and developed by DOE and GRI.
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