ON GOING COALBED METHANE (CBM) DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOUTH SUMATRA BASIN
Abstract
Coalbed methane (CBM) is going to be an important facet of the nation’s energy mix. It is expected to contribute in importance energy back up for the future. CBM is natural gas, a clean-burning energy source that is reservoired in a coal seam. CBM is formed during the coal maturation process and may in a free or adsorbed state in coal seams in adjacent formations. CBM is dominantly methane but lesser concentrations of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, compare to conventional natural gas. However, in most cases, CBM is of sufficient quality for sale directly into natural gas transmission lines with a limited amount of moisture removal.
CBM as natural gas has numerous benefits to include direct selling, well suited as city gas, electricity generation, boiler fuel, transportation fuel, and for many types of chemical industries feed. Beside CBM replaces coal to be greatly reduces the production of acid rain and other forms of air pollution, the development of CBM has benefitial for coal miners. It can contribute to improved mining safety as well as it can help reduce construction costs.
CBM is probably one of the promising alternative fuel energy resources in Indonesia that its presence is actual and comparable with the existing coal resources in any potential basin. Unlike some well in developed countries where commercialization of methane production from coal seam has been developed, coals direct mined in Indonesia seem to be more attractive and preferable technique to supply the consumer demand of energy. This is because coal mines serve direct products, less complicated technology, low exploration risks, easy recovery, relatively low cost but quick yields and already have wide market. Consequently, people have overlooked the existence of consisting huge potential methane gas in coals.
However, petroleum exploration data throughout Indonesia suggest that increasing coal rank occurs rapidly with depth in many basins and that gas kicks are almost common associated with some coal seams below 200 m depth. In addition, world CBM exploration now has shifted towards lower rank settings (i.e, vitrinite reflectance between 0.3% and 0.6% Ro). In Indonesia, thick coals generally are found at greater depth, higher in rank and therefore are expected to be more productive (Saghafi and Hadiyanto, 2000).
LEMIGAS is currently conducting a drilling program to study the feasibility of CBM production in South Sumatra. The domain of the work is in the Muaraenim Formation (Upper – Middle Palembang). The coal sequences were deposited during Late Miocene. We believe that a big effort is extremely essential to establish the reserve and economic potential of CBM in South Sumatra to later extent to Indonesia.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Australian StandardTM AS 3980-1999, 1999, Guide
to the determination of gas content of coal – Direct desorption method, Standards Association of
Australia, 36 p.
Adiwidjaja, P., de Coster, G.L., 1973. Pre-tertiary
paleotopogra-phy and related sedimentation in
South Sumatra. In: Proceedings Indonesian Petroleum Association 2nd Annual Convention,
Jakarta, pp. 89-103.
de Coster, G.L., 1974. The geology of Central
and South Sumatra Basins. In: Proceedings Indonesian Petroleum Association 3rd Annual Convention, Jakarta, pp. 77-110.
Daly, M.C., Hooper, B.G.D., Smith, D.G., 1987.
Tertiary plate tectonics and basin evolution in Indonesia. In: Proceedings of the 6th Regional Congress on Geology, Mineral and Hydro-carbon
Resources of Southeast Asia (GEOSEA VI),
Jakarta, pp. 1-28.
Darman, H., Sidi, F.H., 2000. An Outline of the
Geology of Indonesia. Indonesian Association of
Geologists, Jakarta, p. 254.
Gafoer, S., Purbohadiwidjoyo, M.M., 1986. The
geology of Southern Sumatra and its bearing on
the occurence of minerxl deposits. Bulletin of the
Geological Research and Develop-ment Center,
No. 12, Directorate General of Geology and Mineral Resources of Indonesia, Bandung, pp. 21-
Hasan, M.M. and Soebandrio, D.S., 1988, The
petroleum geology of Tanjung Laban field, South
Sumatra, In Proceedings Indonesian Petroleum
Association 23rd Annual Convention, Jakarta, pp.
-428.
Kurnely, K., Tamtomo, B., Aprilian, S., Doria, I.,
, A Preliminary Study of Development of
Coalbed Methane (CBM) in South Sumatra, paper SPE80518, presented at the SPE Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition,
Jakarta, Indonesia.
Makino, E. Sosrowidjojo, I.B., Suwarno, P., 2006,
CBM Development in South Sumatra, Proceedings of the IndoCBM 2006, Jakarta, Indonesia,
April 2006.
Nugroho, W., and Arsegianto, 1993, Future Prospect of Coalbed Methane in Indonesia. Proceedings of the 1993 International Coalbed Methane
Symposium, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa,
May 1993, p. 721-726.
Saghafi, A., 2003, Aspects of gas storage and
flow properties of Australian coals, in the Proceedings of the 2nd Annual Australian Coal Seam
& Mine Methane Conference, February 2003,
Brisbane, Australia, pp 1-15.
Saghafi, A., and Hadiyanto, 2000. Methane Storage Properties of Indonesian Tertiary Coals. Proceedings Southeast Asian Coal Geology Conference, Bandung, Indonesia, June 2000.
Sosrowidjojo, I.B., 2006, Coalbed Methane potential in the South Palembang Basin, Proceedings, Jakarta2006 International Geosciences Conference and Exhibition, Jakarta, August 2006, file
name: JKT06-CH-05.
Stevens, S.H., and Hadiyanto, 2004, Indonesia:
Coalbed Mathane Indicators and Basin Evaluation, paper SPE88630, presented at the SPE Asia
Pacific Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition,
Perth, Australia
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29017/SCOG.29.3.1028
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Indexed On :
