2.7 BCf/d1.8 BCf/d
400
MM
Cf/
d
g
h
de
abc
Tsable River
Telkwa
f
Tulameen
GrahamIsland
Coalfields
Tuya RiverCoalfield
40 Bcf
Coal RiverCoalfield
6 Bcf
East KootenayCoalfields
19 TcfSuquash Coalfield
60 BcfComox Coalfield
800 Bcf
Nanaimo Coalfield300 Bcf
Bowron RiverCoalfield
8 Bcf
Klappan andGroundhogCoalfields
8.1 Tcf
TelkwaCoalfield130 Bcf
Peace RiverCoalfield
60 Tcf
Hat CreekCoalfield500 Bcf
MerrittCoalfield
TulameenCoalfield
50 Bcf
Prince Rupert
FortSt. John
Fort Nelson
Victoria
Vancouver
Sedimentary Basins
Gas Pipeline
Oil Pipeline
Alliance Pipeline
Anthracite to Sub-anthracite
Bituminous
Sub-bituminous to Lignite
Area Underlain by Coal(above 2000 m depth)
abcdefgh
Fording River
Greenhills
Line Creek
Elkview
Coal Mountain
Pine Valley Coal
Bullmoose
Quinsam
Wolverine & Perry Creek (W&PC)
Tsable River
Tulameen
Telkwa
Coal Mines
Active coal properties
MMCf/d
BCf/d
Million Cubic Feet per day
Billion Cubic Feet per day
Basin Outlines : Geological Survey of Canada, unpublished: P. Hannigan, P.J. Lee, K Osadetz et al., 1993-1998.
Coalfields, Pipelines and Coalbed Methane Potential in British Columbia
W&PC
Oil & Gas hole
During coalification coal generates more methane than it can retain
The excess is expelled into surrounding rocks
During uplift, the ability of coal to retain gas increases
If it is to reach saturation it must generate biogenic methane
Or re adsorb methane form the surrounding rocks
HVB High-volatile bituminous
MVB Medium-volatile bituminous
LVB Low-volatile bituminous
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
0 5 10 15 20 25
gas cc/g or temp ºC/10
de
pth
me
tre
s
progressive rank
adsorption curve
during coalification
MVBHVB
LVB
temperature gradient
arrows=makeup gas for
saturation at 1400 m
LVB
FINDFIND
FIND
adsorption
curves
during uplift
BRITISH COLUMBIAhas a resource of over 20 billion tonnes available for exploration
and a reserve of over 3 billion tonnes available for immediate development
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8coal rank and use
reso
urc
esan
dre
serv
esm
illi
on
ton
nes
USE
>>Thermal >>PCI>>Coking>>PCI>>Thermal
Su
bb
itu
min
ou
s
Hig
hv
ola
tile
bit
um
ino
us
Med
ium
vo
lati
leb
itu
min
ou
s
Lo
wv
ola
tile
bit
um
ino
us
An
thar
acit
e
Lig
nit
e
CBM RESOURCE
CBM is METHANE is NATURAL GAS
is THE BY- PRODUCT OF TURNING TREES INTO COAL
Coalbed methane (CBM) starts with coal
Coal generates methane (CBM) as part of the coalification process
One tonne of coal can generate enough gas to fill a room 9 x 9 x 2 metres
(up to 200 cubic metres of gas)
Coals ability to retain CBM depends on rank and depth of burial
The exploration window for CBM is fixed by an upper depth above which
gas has escaped and a lower depth below which permeability is too low
This window is about 150 metres to 1500 metres
To a large extent the coal resource of interest for CBM exploration is too
deeply buried to be of interest for conventional coal mining
The coal resource available for CBM exploration is over 250 billion tonnes
and it may contain a CBM resource of 90 trillion cubic feet (tcf)
THE COAL RESOURCE PRESENT AND FUTURE USE
�
�
�
�
�
�
�
�
GASIFICATION OF COAL TO PRODUCE H GAS WITH CO2 CAPTURE PRELIMINARY STUDIES
MORE OPPORTUNITIES THAN YOU THINK
EXTRACT COAL BED METHANE FROM DEEPLY BURIED COAL ON GOING EXPLORATION
EXPORT COKING COAL FOR USE IN STEEL MAKING ON GOING
PRODUCTION OF CHEMICAL FEED STOCK AND LOW BTU GAS PRELIMINARY STUDIES
EXPORT THERMAL COAL FOR ELECTRICAL GENERATION ON GOING
ORGANIC RICH SHALES AS A SOURCE FOR TIGHT GAS (CBM) UNDER CONSIDERATION
GASIFICATION AS PART OF ICCG POWER PLANTS UNDER CONSIDERATION
CONVENTIONAL COAL FIRED POWER PLANTS WITHIN THE PROVINCE UNDER CONSIDERATION
FUTURE FOR BRITISH COLUMBIA EXPORT
COKING COAL MINES
� prices and world export volumes flat
� strong competition from Australia but Australian
surface mines getting deeper underground mines not
always consistently cheep mining costs
� mining costs at most British Columbia mines will
improve as mine plans mature
� rail costs have decreased
� can supply coal quality required by market place
� LONG TERM OUTLOOK BC WILL
CONTINUE TO EXPORT 20 PLUS
MILLION TONNES OF COKING
COAL MAINLY FROM
SOUTHEAST BRITISH COLUMBIA
COKING COAL MARKETS CONSIDER� PRICES
� BLENDS
� VOLUMES
PRICES Controlled by supply and demand
Closure of mines in British Columbia and Alberta and decrease in
exports from the USA have ensured a balance for 2001 and maybe
2002
Prices are expected to remain stable or decrease marginally
BLENDS There will be market opportunities for good high volatile
coking coal in coking coal blends
and low volatile coal for PCI (pulverized coal injection)
VOLUMES Export tonnages may increase marginally
plus-side new technologies unlikely to influence coke demand
negative-side steel mills in financial difficulty may not respond to
economic recovery
Increased coke exports from china may reduce coking coal market
COAL DIRTY OR CLEAN ??
SIMPLE QUESTIONS SOLICIT MISS LEADING
ANSWERS
Fossil fuels provide energy by burning (oxidizing) the carbon and hydrogen
that they contain
Cc� energy+CO2 h �energy+H2O
CO2 is one of many greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming by
trapping infra red radiation (heat) in the atmosphere
Fossil fuels may also contain contaminants that produce pollutants
for example coal and oil can contain sulphur
Ss�energy+SO2 SO2+H2O�H2SO4 (sulphuric acid)
Technology can decrease contaminant concentrations in fossil fuels to
acceptable levels
All fossil fuels release CO2 when burnt
For a fixed heat release of 1 giga joule or 106
btu
Coal releases 100 kg CO2
Oil releases 70 kg co2
Gas releases 55 kg CO2
The actual amount of CO2 released per unit of useable energy depends on
the process efficiency
Generating electricity with present technology is 35% to 45% efficient new
technologies are 40% to 60% efficient
COAL IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
DID YOU KNOW
British Columbia has a coal resource of over 20 billion tonnes
and a mineable reserve of over 3 billion tonnes
in 2001 BC exported 27.1 million tonnes of coal for an
estimated value of 1.6 billion dollars close to the record
achieved in 1997 of 27.8 million tonnes
the value of coal exports exceeds the total value of all metal
exports and represents about 400 dollars for every person in
the province
British Columbia exports more coal than any other province
in Canada
coal is the major commodity moved by CP rail and CN rail
British Columbia coal mines directly employ over 2700
people many other jobs are in part dependent on coal mining
British Columbia exports coal to Japan, South Korea, USA,
Brazil, Taiwan UK and many other countries
British Columbia exports mainly coking coal
mining conditions and distance from port
make it dificult to export thermal coal
We are the number 2 exporter of coking coal in the world
There are expected to be marginal increases in coking coalsales
The mix of coal types required by the market place will change over time
There will be a preference for low volatile coals
and hard coking high volatile coals
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
1985 1990 1995 2000
mil
lion
ton
nes
British Columbia coking and thermal coal exports
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
1 2
mil
lion
ton
nes
weak low vol
weak mid vol
weak high vol
hard low vol
hard mid vol
hard high vol
year 2000 year 2010
Mix of world export coking coals present and future
coking coal exports by country 2000
Australia
57%
US
13%
Canada
15%
China
5%
other
10%
Coal markets are cyclical but the price for coking coking coal has
generally decreased in real terms and for Canada
the diference in the Canadian and Australian exchange rates
has made matters worse
Accounting for inflation the price of coking coal
has decreased by 50% since 1981
At the moment and generally in the past coking coal
has been priced higher in Australian dollars than Canadian dollars
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
Met
an
dth
erm
al
US
$co
al
pri
ces
Coking coal black
Thermal coal red
$ of the day
1981 $
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
co
st
me
tc
oa
lin
$C
an
an
d$
Au
st
Australian dollars
canadian dollars
LONG TERM OUTLOOK
BRITISH COLUMBIA WILL CONTINUE TO EXPORT
MORE THAN 20 MILLION TONNES OF COKING COAL PER YEAR
MAINLY FROM SOUTHEAST BC
CONVENTIONAL POWER PLANTS, CLEAN COAL TECHNOLOGY,
(INTEGRATED GASIFICATION COMBINED CYCLE POWER PLANTS)
AND ZERO EMISSION HYDROGEN TECHNOLOGY
ARE ALL POSSIBLE NEW USES OF COAL WITHIN THE PROVINCE
TRADITIONAL COAL EXPORT MARKETS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
METHANE GENERATED BY COAL IS THERMOGENIC OR BIOGENIC
IT MAY ADD TO THE CBM RESOURCE OR THE NATURAL GAS RESOURCE
1 cubic metre
coal
Thermogenic methane
generated
methane
retained by coal
20 cubic metres
CBM fills sandstone as natural gas
up to 40 cubic metres
generation of
biogenic methane
amount ??
BY HEAT OR BUGS
Biogenic methane is very important it
helps coals maintain saturation during
uplift
CARBON IS THE RESIDUE FROM ORGANIC MATTER
IT INDICATES THAT METHANE HAS BEEN GENERATED
MANY SHALES CONTAIN SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF TOTAL ORGANIC CARBON (TOC)
THEY HAVE THEREFORE GENERATED METHANE WHICH THEY OFTEN RETAIN
Mud with 30%
organic material
shale with 10%
TOC and 1.5
cc/g methane
THERE MAY BE SIGNIFICANT RESOURCES
OF CBM IN ORGANIC RICH SHALES
Estimated coal and coalbed methane in place to 2000 metres
Billion tonnes Tcf billion tonnes Tcf
Peace River 160 60 Princeton 0.8 0.06 ??
Kootenay 50 19 Tulameen 0.3 0.05 ??
Bowser Basin 37 8 Merritt 0.2 0.02 ??
Comox 3 0.8 Suquash 0.3 0.06??
Hat Creek 2 0.3 Tuya River 0.7 0.04??
Nanaimo 1 0.3 Coal River 0.1 0.006 ??
Telkwa 0.8 0.13 Bowron River 0.4 0.008 ??
?? Estimates based on minimal data
Tcf trillion cubic feet Bcf billion cubic feet
COALBED METHANE POTENTIAL OF BRITISH COLUMBIA COAL RESOURCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
SEE YOU AROUND Barry Ryan 1/2002
MUCH OF THE NATURAL GAS BEING PRODUCED
IN NORTHEASTERN BRITISH COLUMBIA
MAY ORIGINATE FROM COAL SEAMS IN THE
GATES AND GETHING FORMATIONS
COAL IS AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE A
VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THE
RESOURCE INDUSTRY
OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
THE AMOUNT OF METHANE EXPELLED BY COAL DURING BURIAL AND COALIFICATION
DEPENDS ON RANK AND MAXIMUM DEPTH OF BURIAL
ON UPLIFT AS DEPTH OF BURIAL AND PRESSURE DECREASE
THE GAS CAN OCCUPY A LARGER VOLUME OF POROUS SANDSTONE
SOME OF THE EXPELLED GAS MAY BE RE ADSORBED BY THE COAL
COAL CAN SATURATE 10 TO 30 TIMES ITS VOLUME OF SANDSTONE WITH METHANE
DEPENDING ON THE POROSITY OF THE SANDSTONE
1
10
100
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000
Depth metrescub
icm
etre
sss
tfi
lled
by
1cu
bic
met
reco
al
Rmax = 1.5%
Rmax = 2.3%Rmax = 1.7%
Sandstone recharge from coal
assuming 4% porosity50
40
30
20
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000
Depth meters
Ga
sc
c/g
or
Rm
ax
%
Rmax
incremental gas
generated
area represents gas expelled into
surrounding rocks during burial
adsorption down
NEW USES FOR COAL WITHIN THE BRITISH COLUMBIA
BRITISH COLUMBIA IN THE COAL WORLD
Domestic
thermal 76%
Domestic
coking
Export
thermal 10%
Export
coking 4.5% BC Export coking
coal 1%
WORLD COAL CONSUMPTION 3500 MILLION TONNES
RAW MATERIALS COAL AND LIMESTONE LIMESTONE IS RE
USED
CH4 + CaO + H2O >> CaCO3 + 4H2
2H2 >> make electricity
2H2 + C >>CH4
CaCO3 + heat >> CaO + CO2
MAKE MAGNESIUM CARBONATE
FROM
SERPENTINE AND CARBON DIOXIDE
Mg3SiO5(OH)4 + 3CO2 >> 3MgCO3 + 2SiO + 2H2O
EXOTHERMIC REACTION PROVIDES HEAT
ELEMENTS OF PROCESS TESTED IN
PILOT PLANTS OR BENCH SCALE
INDUSTRIAL SCALE DOES NOT EXIST
solid oxide fuel cell
electricity plus heat
Disposal as magnesium carbonate
THE ZERO EMISSION COAL CHEMISTRY
COAL
LIMESTONE
ELECTRICITY
COAL GASIFICATION
IGCC POWER PLANT
GE
O
LO
G IC A L SUR
VE
Y
BR
ITIS
H C OLUM
BIA
Energy for the future - coal and coalbed methane in BCBarry Ryan - B.C. Ministry of Energy and Mines, Geological Survey Branch
