Exploration for Coal Bed Methane in the Greater
Nama-Kalahari Basin of Namibia, Botswana, South
Africa
and Zimbabwe
Piperi, Theodhora 1; Luzzi-Arbouille, Tiziana 1;
Ehlers-Fliege, Brigitte 1; Zine, Mohamed 1
(1)IHS Global
SA, Geneva, Switzerland.
The increasing local and global demand for energy has given a new
impulse to the gas exploration in Africa
. There has been a growing interest in
the Coal Bed Methane (CBM) potential as an unconventional gas sourced from coal
seams. The Greater Nama-Kalahari Basin hosts large amount of coals in the
Permian Ecca Group (Karoo Sequence), which is currently the focus for CBM
exploration in eastern Namibia, Botswana, South
Africa
and Zimbabwe. Extensive
laboratory analyses of coal samples in Botswana and Zimbabwe indicate that the
reservoir characteristics, gas content and gas saturation are comparable to the
USA basins where CBM is commercial, and economic analyses indicate a reasonable
proposition. Since 2000, a large number of contracts for CBM exploration have
been awarded in the Greater Nama-Kalahari Basin. Some operating companies are
at an early reconnaissance phase that involves continuous acquisition of
geological information and drilling in order to build a regional geological
model of the areas and assess the CBM potential; some have displayed plans and
projects to prove, validate and certify the CBM commerciality in their licensed
areas; and others have started production drilling and analyzing markets and
infrastructure (pipelines and petrochemical complex) for future gas
distribution. The results are promising so far.
AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90135©2011 AAPG International Conference and Exhibition, Milan, Italy, 23-26 October 2011.