Authors / CoAuthors
Poynton, D. | Simon, G.W.
Abstract
Coalbed methane (CBM) is emerging as an important energy resource in Australia. CBM is one of the products of coalification - the process by which peat is transformed into coal during progressive burial. The initial product is biogenic gas, thermogenic gas is produced with increasing pressure and temperature and further biogenic gas may be produced after burial has ceased if the coal becomes exposed to an active groundwater system containing methanogenic bacteria. The storage of CBM within a coalbed reservoir is complex, being a mixture of free gas, dissolved gas and absorbed gas. A number of gas and coal properties govern how much and how fast a coal seam will give up its methane, but the most economically productive seams are naturally fractured or are stimulated to induce and increase fracturing. Unlike conventional gas reservoirs, the continuous production of water from a coalbed reservoir results in a corresponding progressive increase in gas production (up to a certain limit). CBM production in Australia commenced in 1996 and most of Australias coal basins are now covered by production, exploration or application licences. The Cooper Basin contains a huge volume of coal that is recognised to be the source of much of the conventionally trapped gas. No attempt has been made to explore the basin for CBM due to the generally held belief that the coals are too deep. The Weena Trough has been identified as one area in the Cooper Basin in which the Permian coals may be at depths that are economic to exploit. Two wells drilled in the period 1968-70 encountered net coal thicknesses of more than 40m with individual seams up to 18 metres. The fact that elsewhere these coals are known to be the source of much of the basins conventionally trapped gas, combined with the advances made in understanding the nature of CBM generation, storage and production, makes the Weena Trough an ideal target for evaluation
Product Type
nonGeographicDataset
eCat Id
37448
Contact for the resource
Custodian
Point of contact
Cnr Jerrabomberra Ave and Hindmarsh Dr GPO Box 378
Canberra
ACT
2601
Australia
Keywords
-
- External PublicationConference Paper
- ( Theme )
-
- petroleum geology
-
- AU-SA
- Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)
-
- Earth Sciences
-
- Published_Internal
Publication Date
2001-01-01T00:00:00
Creation Date
Security Constraints
Legal Constraints
Status
Purpose
Maintenance Information
unknown
Topic Category
geoscientificInformation
Series Information
Lineage
Unknown
Parent Information
Extents
[-29.5, -29.0, 139.3, 140.5]
Reference System
Spatial Resolution
Service Information
Associations
Downloads and Links
Source Information
Source data not available.