Overview: This project is an evaluation of a part of the Western Kentucky Coal Field for coalbed methane.
Funding: The project is being funded by the Kentucky Consortium for Energy and the Environment, Peabody Energy and the Kentucky Geological Survey.
Description: The Western Kentucky Coal Field is the southern tip of the Eastern Interior ( Illinois) Basin. It extends across all or parts of 19 counties, covering 16,572 km 2. Geologic analysis of the Western Kentucky Coal Field over the past 15 years indicates that economic coalbed methane will most likely be found in coals of the Carbondale and Shelburn Formations because these beds are the thickest, and most laterally continuous in the Western Kentucky Coal Field. These coals include the Davis through Baker. Some other coals, which are known to be locally thick (e.g., Mannington), may contain economically recoverable gas as well. An analysis of 20 borehole records from Webster and Union Counties indicates an average of 17 feet, and in some cases more than 25 feet, of coal in the Davis through Baker interval. An overburden map on the Springfield coal indicates that a considerable amount of the Springfield occurs at depths of 500 feet, or more, across a large part of the coal field. An even larger area has at least 200 feet or more of cover. This indicates that the coal beds considered to be principle targets have sufficient cover for methane production across most of the Western Kentucky Coal Field. This project will proceed in two phases:
Additional Information:
Coalbed Methane Potential of the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field , Geological Society of America NE-SE section meeting, Tysons Corner, VA March 24-27, 2004.
IOGCC Coal Seam Natural Gas in the Northern Appalachian Basin, Charleston, West Virginia, September 24, 2002