Resource Assessment and Production Testing for Coalbed Methane in the Illinois Basin

The Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) will provide the following support to the Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS) in regard to the V.S Department of Energy contract to KGS under DOE Program Solicitation No. DE-PS26-92NT41613. The goal of this project is to obtain fundamental information on methane content, permeability, and well-completion data and techniques for Illinois Basin coal beds, and associated organic-rich shales. This study will provide essential baseline information necessary for the development and production of coalbed methane (CBM) from areas believed to hav.e the best potential for economically extractable CBM in the Illinois part of the Illinois Basin. . The Illinois portion of the project will proceed in three overlapping phases. The goal of Phase 1 is to perform a geological assessment that will be used to target areas deemed to have the best potential for economically recoverable CBM. The goal of Phase 2 is to drill three exploration core holes in the target areas in Illinois, from which samples of coals and selected organic-rich shales will be recovered and tested for gas content. Some . samples will undergo further analyses to determine absolute gas saturation (adsorption) capacity, as well as chemical and isotopic composition ofthe gas. Phase 3 of the project will entail drilling or re-completing four additional wells at a pilot production site to determine in situ coal permeability characteristics, evaluate several well completion techniques, and determine the economics of the production ofCBM.