Carbon dioxide emissions are considered a major source of increased atmospheric CO2
levels leading towards global warming. CO2 sequestration in coal bed reservoirs is one
technique that can reduce the concentration of CO2 in the air. In addition, due to the
chemical and physical properties of carbon dioxide, CO2 sequestration is a potential
option for substantially enhancing coal bed methane recovery (ECBM).
The San Juan Fruitland coal has the most prolific coal seams in the United States. This
basin was studied to investigate the potential of CO2 sequestration and ECBM. Primary
recovery of methane is controversial ranging between 20-60% based on reservoir
properties in coal bed reservoirs15. Using CO2 sequestration as a secondary recovery
technique can enhance coal bed methane recovery up to 30%.
Within the San Juan Basin, permeability ranges from 1 md to 100 md. The Fairway
region is characterized with higher ranges of permeability and lower pressures. On the
western outskirts of the basin, there is a transition zone characterized with lower ranges
of permeability and higher pressures. Since the permeability is lower in the transition zone, it is uncertain whether this area is suitable for CO2 sequestration and if it can
deliver enhanced coal bed methane recovery.
The purpose of this research is to determine the economic feasibility of sequestering CO2
to enhance coal bed methane production in the transition zone of the San Juan Basin
Fruitland coal seams. The goal of this research is two- fold. First, to determine whether
there is a potential to enhance coal bed methane recovery by using CO2 injection in the
transition zone of the San Juan Basin. The second goal is to identify the optimal design
strategy and utilize a sensitivity analysis to determine whether CO2 sequestration/ECBM
is economically feasible.
Based on the results of my research, I found an optimal design strategy for four 160-
acre spacing wells. With a high rate injection of CO2 for 10 years, the percentage of
recovery can increase by 30% for methane production and it stores 10.5 BCF of CO2. The
economic value of this project is $17.56 M and $19.07 M if carbon credits were granted
at a price of $5.00/ton. If CO2 was not injected, the project would only give $15.55 M.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/5896 |
| Date | 17 September 2007 |
| Creators | Agrawal, Angeni |
| Contributors | Startzman, Richard, Wattenbarger, Robert |
| Publisher | Texas A&M University |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Thesis, text |
| Format | 751594 bytes, electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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