--> Coalbed Methane Exploration in the Sydney Basin, Australia, Using Remote Sensing Techniques, by G. L. Prost; #90986 (1994).

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Abstract: Coalbed Methane Exploration in the Sydney Basin, Australia, Using Remote Sensing Techniques

Gary L. Prost

Fractures, or cleat, are the primary source of porosity and permeability in coal beds. An essential element of a program to evaluate the coalbed methane potential of the Sydney basin, Australia, consisted of using 1:40,000 and 1:80,000 black/white stereo airphotos to map surface fracture traces. These "lineaments" were digitized, and fracture orientations and densities were evaluated with respect to scattered subsurface coal thickness and quality information. A field mapping program confirmed fracture orientations and examined the vertical continuity of jointing in key areas, including coal outcrops. A corehole, the Duncans Creek #1, was located at the intersection of two strong surface fracture trends determined by this work. The hole was spudded on 2 December 1992 and reached a tota depth of 1259 meters on 12 January 1993. An evaluation of the core indicates that the Upper Permian Illawara Group coal intervals were highly fractured at depths between 785 and 830 meters, providing some of the best permeabilities seen in the basin to date. It is concluded that surface fracture mapping can, under certain circumstances, help locate areas of highly fractured coal at depth.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90986©1994 AAPG Annual Convention, Denver, Colorado, June 12-15, 1994