Chapter 1 - Global Reserves of Coal Bed Methane and Prominent Coal Basins

Abstract

Fossil fuels comprise nearly 90% of the proved reserves of global energy. Coal is the major component of fossil fuel containing nearly 90% of the fossil fuel energy. The growing population of the world would need 5 to 7.5×1020J of energy to live well. To meet this growing demand extraction of gas contained in coal has become necessary. The vast deposits of coal (17–30T tons) contain approximately 30,000TCF of gas, called coal bed methane (CBM). A brief description of the prominent coal basins with a CBM reserve estimate is provided. The list includes coal basins of United States, Western Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Russia, China, Australia, India, and South Africa. These countries produce 90% of global coal production and nearly 100% of all CBM production. Since the economic depth limit for mining is around 3000ft, only about 1T ton of coal can be mined leaving a vast reserve of coal full of CBM unutilized. Vertical drilling with hydrofracking (a copy of conventional oil and gas production technique) is the main technique used to extract gas at present. This works only up to 3000–3500ft depth because of serious loss in permeability. A new technique that has been eminently successful in deep and tight Devonian Shale (Marcellus Shale) is advocated for CBM production from deeper horizons. Lastly the CBM reservoir is compared to conventional reservoirs. The disparities are very substantial warranting a new and proper treatment of the subject, “Reservoir and Production Engineering of Coal Bed Methane.”