Open AccessResource Assessment & Production Testing for Coal Bed Methane in the Illinois Basin
Author(s) -
Cortland F. Eble,
James A. Drahovzal,
David G. Morse,
Ilham Demir,
John A. Rupp,
María Mastalerz,
Wilfrido Solano
Publication year - 2005
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/875823
Subject(s) - drilling , structural basin , coal , coal basin , natural gas , well drilling , methane , resource (disambiguation) , geology , mining engineering , coal mining , environmental science , petroleum engineering , waste management , engineering , geomorphology , mechanical engineering , ecology , computer network , computer science , biology
In order to assess the economic coal bed methane potential of the Illinois Basin, the geological surveys of Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky performed a geological assessment of their respective parts of the Illinois Basin. A considerable effort went into generating cumulative coal thickness and bed structure maps to identify target areas for exploratory drilling. Following this, the first project well was drilled in White County, Illinois in October 2003. Eight additional wells were subsequently drilled in Indiana (3) and Kentucky (5) during 2004 and 2005. In addition, a five spot pilot completion program was started with three wells being completed. Gas contents were found to be variable, but generally higher than indicated by historical data. Gas contents of more than 300 scf/ton were recovered from one of the bore holes in Kentucky. Collectively, our findings indicate that the Illinois Basin represents a potentially large source of economic coal bed methane. Additional exploration will be required to refine gas contents and the economics of potential production