Coalbed gas potential in the Pittsburgh-Huntington synclinorium, northern West Virginia
- West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey, Morgantown (United States)
The West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey (WVGES) received a subcontract from the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology to conduct a geologic evaluation of critical production parameters for coalbed methane resources in the northern Appalachian coal basin. The study area is a northeast-southwest-trending ellipse that coincides with the axis of the Pittsburgh-Huntington Synclinorium in north central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania. Coalbed gas resources there have been estimated to be 61 bcf in previous work funded by the Gas Research institute. Data used in that study were mainly core descriptions and drillers' logs from coal exploration cores. The current research will integrate data from the WVGES' coal, oil and gas, and ground water databases to more carefully determine the number and thicknesses of coals below the Pittsburgh, and their hydrologic setting. Main objectives are to determine: the number of coals present; the geographic and stratigraphic positions of the thickest coals; locations of depocenters with stacked coals; the pressure regime of the area and geologic factors contributing to it; ground-water circulation patterns; and the presence of any potentiometric anomalies. Local and regional stratigraphic and structural cross sections and lithofacies and coal occurrence maps will be made for the coal-bearing interval below the Pittsburgh coal to show the distribution, structural attitude, and depositional systems. Regional and local control of structural elements, including fractures, on gas producibility from coalbeds will be determined. Gas and water production data will be collected from two small areas of current production and mapped and compared to maps of geologic parameters. The goal is to measure the effect on production of geologic parameters in these coalbed gas fields, and determine the locations of other 'sweet spots' in these coal beds.
- OSTI ID:
- 7272781
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-910403-; CODEN: AABUD
- Journal Information:
- AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States), Vol. 75:3; Conference: Annual meeting of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), Dallas, TX (United States), 7-10 Apr 1991; ISSN 0149-1423
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
03 NATURAL GAS
COAL DEPOSITS
HYDROLOGY
STRATIGRAPHY
METHANE
PRODUCTION
WEST VIRGINIA
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
COAL SEAMS
GROUND WATER
NATURAL GAS
RESERVES
RESOURCE ASSESSMENT
RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
ALKANES
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGY
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MINERAL RESOURCES
NORTH AMERICA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RESOURCES
USA
WATER
011000* - Coal
Lignite
& Peat- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
030300 - Natural Gas- Drilling
Production
& Processing