Print this pageThe mining and export of coal is a major industry in Australia, and the Bowen Basin in Queensland holds a vast reserve of this commodity. The problem in extracting the coal from the ground is knowing the coal seam structure ahead of the mining process. If while mining a coal seam an unknown fault, unstable roof conditions or a gas pocket are encountered, they can lead not only to equipment damage and downtime, but risk of life to personnel. Currently, coal seams are mapped by borehole information, but these are expensive and lack detail. The industry needs to take advantage of the seismic method, which offers a cheap way of continuously imaging the subsurface.
The use of 3-D reflection surveying is ideal in geologically complex areas since geology is three-dimensional in nature and modern processing and interpretation methods will allow subtle features to be mapped.
The research will involve the processing, integration and interpretation of a past 2-D seismic survey, RVSP, and well log information with a 3-D survey. Detailed analysis of the 3-D volume including seismic and trace attributes will be used to help identify subtle faulting along with possible coal bed methane gas pockets. Further processing and analysis of the data would then be required for fracture and stress detection.
By combining RVSP, 2-D and 3-D seismic methods and borehole data, the merits of each method will be highlighted and a new insight into their use for similar work conducted in the future will be provided.
AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90925©1999 AAPG Foundation Grants-in-Aid