The natural gas contained in coal, referred to as coalbed methane (CBM), is gaining interest as energy prices rise. Most well logging methods now used for CBM evaluation were developed many years ago when the industry began evaluating oil and gas production.
ARM’s slimhole tools are ideally suited to meet the challenges of CBM exploration. They can be run inside hollow drill stems thereby reducing time and drilling costs. Since coal beds are characterized by high resistivity and low density, ARM’s combination compensated density, guard resistivity, gamma ray, and caliper tool provides essential data in a single run.
Neutron and sonic logs are also commonly run to further characterize beds. Imaging technologies such as acoustic and optical televiewers can be used to determine the orientation of fractures and bedding planes.
ARM scientists apply their well logging, geophysical, and geological expertise to design and implement effective logging suites to characterize CBM resources and optimize field development.