The gas generative potential of the Cretaceous Cameo coal in the Piceance Basin, northwestern Colorado, was evaluated quantitatively by sealed gold tube pyrolysis. The H/C and O/C elemental ratios show that pyrolyzed Cameo coal samples follow the Van Krevelen humic coal evolution pathway, reasonably simulating natural coal maturation. Kinetic parameters (activation energy and frequency factor) for gas generation and vitrinite reflectance (R_o) changes were calculated from pyrolysis data. Experimental R_o results from this study are not adequately predicted by published R_o kinetics and indicate the necessity of deriving basin-specific kinetic parameters when building predictive basin models.

Using derived kinetics for R_o evolution and gas generation, basin modeling was completed for 57 wells across the Piceance Basin, which enabled the mapping of coal-rank and coalbed gas potential. Quantities of methane generated at approximately 1.2% R_o are about 300 standard cubic feet per ton (scf/ton) and more than 2500 scf/ton (in-situ dry-ash-free coal) at R_o values reaching 1.9%. Gases generated in both low- and high-maturity coals are less wet, whereas the wetter gas is expected where R_o is approximately 1.4–1.5%. As controlled by regional coal rank and net coal thickness, the largest in-place coalbed gas resources are located in the central part of the basin, where predicted volumes exceed 150 bcf/mi², excluding gases in tight sands.