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Title: Coalbed Methane: The Impact Of New Technology
Author: Charles F. Brandenburg
Source: American Gas Association 1990
Year Published: 1990
Abstract: Coal seams have long been recognized as a source for natural gas. Operators of coal mines dread the methane that seeps and bursts into the underground shafts causing the countless tragic explosions. Their objective has always been to remove and vent this hazard to mining. Exploration geologists look for deeply buried coals as a source rock for natural gas. However, their objective has been to find the overlying conventional sand or carbonate layers that are the reservoirs for this gas. What is different now is that the coal itself is being viewed as the reservoir rock, not just a source rock, and the released methane is being viewed as a valuable commodity, not just a mining hazard. What is also different is that coal mining and gas production science and technology have been combined to form a new energy industry -coalbed methane, the economic production of natural gas from coal seams. The coalbed methane industry has grown rapidly during the recent years, powered greatly by new science and better technology. Still, major challenges remain that require research and fresh ideas, particularly for developing new basins, deeper coals, and geological complex settings. This paper provides a brief perspective on the coalbed methane industry-its status, its underlying resource base, its integral technologies, and the impact that technology has had on its economics.

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