Coal Geology and its Application to Coal-Bed Methane Reservoirs; Lecture Notes for Short Course

Coal geology is the field of science, which studies the occurrence and origin of coal on the planet earth. This knowledge can be used to the benefit of man in the discovery and wise management of coal.

Coal can be defined as a readily combustible rock containing more than 50% weight and more than 70% by volume of carbonaceous material including inherent moisture, formed from compaction and indurations of variously altered plant remains similar to those in peat. Differences in the kinds of plant materials (type), in degree of metamorphism (rank), and in the range of impurity (grade) are characteristic for coal and are used in classification (AGI, 1987).

Total resources of coal are huge. Energy derived from coal constitutes the largest of the world's available supplies of conventional energy, with over 60% of the total proven recoverable reserves and around 80% of the estimated additional resources (Ward, 1984).

This short course will give an introduction to the field of coal geology and it will stress the relevance of coal geology to the finding and exploitation of coal-bed methane resources. Although the course is introductory in nature, the participants will nevertheless be exposed to exciting new concepts in coal geology. In addition, representative coalfields of Alberta will be visited and explained by local experts. The course will be of interest to both petroleum geologists and reservoir engineers.