According to our EMD president's report
to the Advisory Council and the House of Delegates at the Houston
AAPG meeting, coalbed methane (CBM) resources — exploration and
production — represent one of "our most active areas."
This was very evident during the recent Houston meeting.
Two poster sessions covered CBM topics, along with one CBM/coal
field trip.
(Despite its "hot topic" status, the CBM short course
was unfortunately cancelled due to low early registration numbers.
If you missed this one, register early next time!)
Here are other examples of how coalbed methane is
heating up as an important topic:
➤ In February, EMD participated in publicizing the Strategic Research
Institute's "Coalbed Methane Produced Water Strategies" conference
held in Durango, Colo. EMD members received conference brochures
and will receive electronic copies of the conference findings as
well.
➤ Laura
Wray, EMD's Rocky Mountain councilor, presented a talk to the Rocky
Mountain Association of Geologists on the CBM potential of the Denver
Basin.
Wray also reports that the Colorado Geological Survey has received
a two-year grant from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to conduct
an assessment of the CBM potential of the Sand Wash, North and
Middle Park basins of Colorado.
The CGS has convened an Industry Advisory Group to oversee this
new project.
➤ Eastern
Section councilor Douglas Patchen reports that the West Virginia
Geological Survey is promoting CBM activity by providing updates
on the emerging CBM play in southern West Virginia.
The WVGS also is cooperating with the Petroleum Technology Transfer
Council to add a "CBM wells layer" to the basin GIS for West Virginia,
Pennsylvania and Virginia, including data tables for individual
wells.
As AAPG general chairman for the 2003 Eastern Section meeting
to be held concurrently with the SPE Eastern Region meeting in
Pittsburgh, Patchen also promises a strong EMD session including
CBM talks.
➤ Mid-Continent
councilor Samuel Friedman reports that CBM was featured prominently
in the Mid-Continent meeting in Amarillo last fall, and that planning
is under way for more papers and a field trip for the 2003 meeting
in Tulsa.
➤ Douglas
Peters reports that CBM resources and projects will be included
in the topics to be covered by the proposed "full-cycle" symposium
on "Energy Solids, Liquids and Gases: Exploration Through Project
Completion," planned for July 2003. Expect a "call for papers" to
be issued soon.
➤ CBM
Committee chairman Walter Ayers' report to the board included a
summary of CBM activity nationally and internationally. Highlights
from Ayers' report include:
- The United States continues to lead the world in CBM exploration,
reserves and production.
- Fifteen basins in the United States sustain commercial production,
which totaled 1.38 Tcf for the year 2000 — this constituted 7.2
percent of the dry natural gas production in the lower 48 states
and represented a fifteen-fold increase over the 1989 production
of 91 Bcf.
- The San Juan, Raton and Piceance basins of Colorado and New
Mexico accounted for 73 percent of domestic production.
- CBM reserves for 2000 were about 15.7 Tcf, which constituted
8.8 percent of the U.S. dry natural gas reserves. This represented
a more than four-fold increase over the CBM reserves reported
for 1989 of 3.7 Tcf.
Ayers also reported that CBM is being produced commercially
in the Bowen Basin of Queensland, Australia. CBM exploration, test
wells or pilot projects are ongoing in several countries including
the United Kingdom, China and India. Additional information about
CBM activity is available upon request.
Ayers also reported that an outline has been submitted
by J. Pashin et al for an EMD CBM publication. This is currently
under review.
EMD is requesting e-mail addresses for all EMD members.
Many of these addresses have changed, and others
have never been recorded.
Why the request? We would like to send our newsletter
to you by e-mail in order to reduce our expenses (but if you prefer
to receive it by mail, please let us know).
E-mail also allows us to quickly update you on news
and events concerning EMD commodities and technologies.
Please send your e-mail address to Norma Newby at
AAPG.