About This Item

Share This Item

The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database

AAPG Bulletin

Abstract

AAPG Bulletin, V. 92, No. 1 (January 2008), P. 77-86.

Copyright copy2008. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.

DOI:10.1306/08270706133

Coal reservoir saturation: Impact of temperature and pressure

Amanda M. M. Bustin,1 R. Marc Bustin2

1Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of British Columbia, 6339 Stores Road, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6T 1Z4; [email protected]
2Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of British Columbia, 6339 Stores Road, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6T 1Z4

ABSTRACT

Methane adsorption isotherms measured for a series of coals with varying rank at a wide range of temperatures and pressures allows the prediction of the change in sorption capacity as a function of tectonic history. Changes in sorption capacity in response to declining pressure and temperature associated with uplift may increase or decrease the capacity of the coal and, if the coal is initially saturated, result in excess gas or a deficiency of gas (undersaturation). Assuming reasonable geothermal and pressure gradients, our data indicate that the sorption capacity will generally decrease with uplift and associated exhumation, suggesting that an initially gas-saturated coal will desorb gas during uplift of the reservoir. The desorbed gas would be available for migration and/or, potentially, resaturation of an undersaturated coal. Our results argue against the generally accepted theory that undersaturation of coal reservoirs results from an increase in the sorption capacity with uplift except for coals at such high pressures that the isotherms are essentially flat or for very high pressure and geothermal gradients.

Pay-Per-View Purchase Options

The article is available through a document delivery service. Explain these Purchase Options.

Watermarked PDF Document: $14
Open PDF Document: $24

AAPG Member?

Please login with your Member username and password.

Members of AAPG receive access to the full AAPG Bulletin Archives as part of their membership. For more information, contact the AAPG Membership Department at [email protected].