Coalbed Methane in the United States: From Updated GIS Study

Samuel Limerick¹, Gary Long², Jack Perrin⁴, David Morehouse³, Paul Chapman⁴, Lucy Luo⁴, and Robert King^3
1Z, Inc., Reno, NV
²Energy Information Administration, Dallas, TX
³Energy Information Administration, Washington, DC
⁴Z, Inc., Dallas, TX

A map of coalbed methane (CBM) gas fields in the US was constructed using ESRI ArcGIS software. This map was originally built in 2003 and has been updated with 2006 data. The CBM field outlines are displayed on a background of USGS and Alaska DNR coal basins along with active and abandoned coal mines or mined-out areas. The EPA’s 100 gassiest active coal mines are shown, color-coded by specific emissions (annual gas emitted / coal produced). Inset maps show details for 17 CBM basins, with inset maps added since the last edition for Texas, Louisiana, Coos Bay Coal Field, Hanna Basin, Wind River Basin and Greater Green River Basin. Well data for the field outlines was obtained from state geological surveys, oil & gas commissions and operators representing 20 states. Field outlines were constructed by (1) buffering the wells from each field with a radius based on their spacing, (2) unioning the buffers to make a single polygon record per field name, and (3) applying an algorithm to smooth the outlines. Visual basic application programs within ArcGIS were used to automate these processes. CBM past production (from the states’ oil & gas commissions), present proved reserves (Energy Information Administration) and future resources (Potential Gas Committee) were classified by basin and displayed as chloropleth maps and pie charts. CBM annual production by basin was graphed for each basin.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90078©2008 AAPG Annual Convention, San Antonio, Texas