Cahaba Basin

Cahaba Basin

The Cahaba Basin is a geologic area of central Alabama developed for coal and coalbed methane (CBM) production. [http://www.gsa.state.al.us/documents/oginfo/cbm.pdf Alabama State Oil and Gas Board; Coalbed Methane Resources of Alabama] Centered in eastern Bibb and southwestern Shelby Counties, the basin is significantly smaller in area and production than the larger Black Warrior Basin in Tuscaloosa and western Jefferson Counties to the northwest [http://www.gsa.state.al.us/img/mapf7.jpgAlabama State Oil and Gas Board; Oil and Gas Regions Map] . The coalbed methane is produced from the Gurnee Field of the Pottsville Coal Interval. Coalbed gas production has been continious since at least 1990 and annual gas production has increased from 344,875 Mcf in 1990 to 3,154, 554 Mcf through October 2007 [http://www.gsa.state.al.us/ogb/db_field.aspx Alabama State Oil and Gas Board; Fields & Pools Database] .

=Geology=The Cahaba Basin is located across an anticline from the neighboring Black Warrior Basin. Within the Cahaba Basin, the Pennsylvanian Age coal beds have an average bed thickness of 50 feet. http://www.geometinc.com/ir/documents/bofaenergyconfnov07.pdf; GeoMet, Inc.; Bank of America 2007 Energy Conference, November 16, 2007] The developed formations are known as the Gurnee Field of the Pottsville Formation.

=Development=The coal resources of the Cahaba Basin have been developed for over a century and contributed to the Birmingham area's rise as an iron and steel production center. [cite book|title=Alabama Railroads|author=Wayne Cline|year=1997] Numerous small coal mines contine to operate in the basin. Several CBM developers operate within the Cahaba Basin with GeoMet, Inc. and CDX Gas being two of the largest. The field has been developed for CBM since the 1980s. GeoMet, Inc. and CDX both operate pipelines which join the SONAT Bessemer Calera Pipeline and Enbridge Pipeline respectively. GeoMet, Inc. operates a discharge water pipeline to the Black Warrior River.

=References=

=External links=
* [http://www.gsa.state.al.us/index.html Geological Survery of Alabama; Alabama State Oil and Gas Board]
* [http://www.coalbed.com/] Coalbed Methane Association of Alabama; non-profit trade association
* [http://www.cdxgas.com CDX Gas – a significant Cahaba Basin CBM developer]
* [http://www.geometinc.com GeoMet, Inc. - a significant Cahaba Basin CBM developer]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cahaba Shiner — Conservation status Critically Endangered (IUCN 2.3) Scientific classification …   Wikipedia

  • Cahaba River — Geobox | River name = Cahaba River category = River image size = 300 image caption = The Cahaba River in the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge etymology = country = United States country state = Alabama region type = County region = district …   Wikipedia

  • Black Warrior Basin — The Black Warrior Basin is a geologic area of western Alabama developed for coal and coalbed methane production. The Black Warrior Basin has been developed and in production longer than any other United States coalbed basin. [http://www.gsa.state …   Wikipedia

  • Geology of Alabama — The geology of Alabama is marked by abundant geologic resources and a variety of geologic structures from folded mountains in the north to sandy beaches along the Gulf of Mexico coast. Alabama spans three continental geologic provinces as defined …   Wikipedia

  • Flat pebblesnail — A 1870 drawing of the shell of Lepyrium showalteri Conservation status …   Wikipedia

  • Cylindrical lioplax — A 1870 drawing of the shell of Lioplax cyclostomaformis Conservation status …   Wikipedia

  • Goldline darter — Taxobox | name = Goldline darter status = VU status system = iucn2.3 regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Actinopterygii ordo = Perciformes familia = Percidae genus = Percina species = P. aurolineata binomial = Percina aurolineata… …   Wikipedia

  • List of rivers of Alabama — (U.S. state).By Drainage BasinThis list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream s name. All rivers in Alabama flow to the Gulf of Mexico.* Apalachicola River (FL) **Chattahoochee River… …   Wikipedia

  • Alabama (Rivière) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Alabama (homonymie). Alabama L Alabama au sud de Montgomery …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Alabama (fleuve) — Alabama (rivière) Pour les articles homonymes, voir Alabama (homonymie). Alabama L Alabama au sud de Montgomery …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”