By Stan Stelter
Bismarck, ND – At least three companies are now exploring the potential for developing coalbed methane gas in western North Dakota.
A state official says the new interest comes as a result of plans announced for a large, new pipeline that will carry the gas from Wyoming and Montana into North Dakota. Coalbed methane is natural gas that is trapped in coal seams.
Lynn Helms, director of the State Industrial Commission's oil and gas division -- says there's been more excitement generated about prospecting for coalbed methane in the lignite reserves in the state. "It's also going to offer some opportunities for North Dakota. That pipeline route is going to take it through a couple of spots in western North Dakota that our geological survey has identified as good candidates -- or some of the better candidates -- for production of coalbed methane. And so it's generated some interest, some excitement. And we do know that we have a few companies that, in fact, are looking at some coalbed methane prospects in western North Dakota and, in fact, there is some leasing going on out there." Helms says three companies are looking at leases for developing the energy resource. They are two U.S. firms -- Burlington Resources and Over The Hill Resources -- and a Canadian company, Suncor Corporation.
He says it's unknown yet the potential for coalbed methane production here. "There, to-date, has been no coalbed methane production from lignite coal. The coals we have in North Dakota are less mature then what they have in the Powder River Basin, and so it really is a complete unknown as to whether our coals are mature enough to have generated commercial quantities of gas, whether the water that's in our coal beds, whether it's going to be economically possible to produce that water and dispose of it. So, it really is a wildcat operation at this point, and it's at the very early stages of being tested.
In a 1997 report, the U.S. Geological Survey called coalbed methane an untapped energy resource nationally but also an environmental challenge. That's partly due to the large amounts of water produced with the gas.