What is coal-bed methane?
Vancouver SunJanuary 9, 2009
vancouversun.com
Coal-bed methane is the natural gas found in most coal deposits. It is virtually identical to the natural gas found underground in conventional sandstone formations. It was created, along with coal, as buried plant material was converted into coal over millions of years. The methane is effectively locked into the coal by the pressure created from being underground, and by saline water that sits in all the fractures where the gas might otherwise be able to seep. When the coal seam is drilled and the water is pumped out, the gas can begin to flow out of the coal, and becomes available to the gas producer. The resulting gas is typically a pure or "sweet" gas that requires very little processing before it can be passed along to consumers for home heating.
THE DEBATE
Controversy has dogged the B.C. government's efforts to establish a coal-bed methane industry. Disastrous events in some U.S. jurisdictions where the industry was allowed to proceed without proper environmental scrutiny has led to contamination of drinking water aquifers, livestock watering ponds, rivers and fields. That influenced many communities in B.C. which have been reluctant to see coal-bed methane reserves developed. The industry's biggest challenge is managing the volume of water, often with a high sodium content, that must be pumped out of underground coal seams before coal-bed gas begins to flow.
THE FIX
Hudson's Hope Gas and its shareholders, Canada Energy Partnership and Geomet Inc., have addressed most community concerns through consultation and local investment. Water from its wells is removed by tanker truck and reinjected into spent gas wells near Fort St. John. According to the government, applications to re-inject water must be approved by the Oil and Gas Commission, and companies must keep this water isolated from potential groundwater zones. All disposal wells are lined with steel casing that is cemented into the well bore. |
