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Regional Evaluation of the Coalbed Methane Potential of the Foothills/Mountains of Alberta (Second Edition)

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Regional Evaluation of the Coalbed Methane Potential of the Foothills/Mountains of Alberta (Second Edition) EUB/AGS Earth Sciences Report 2002-05 Regional Evaluation of the Coalbed Methane Potential of the Foothills/Mountains of Alberta (Second Edition) Alberta Energy and Utilities Board Alberta Geological Survey EUB/AGS Earth Sciences Report 2002-05 Regional Evaluation of the Coalbed Methane Potential of the Foothills/Mountains of Alberta (Second Edition) C.W. Langenberg, A. Beaton and H. Berhane Alberta Geological Survey October 2002 ©Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Alberta, 2002 ISBN 0-7795-1473-0 The Alberta Energy and Utilities Board/Alberta Geological Survey (EUB/AGS) and its employees and contractors make no warranty, guarantee or representation, express or implied, or assume any legal liability regarding the correctness, accuracy, completeness or reliability of this publication. Any digital data and software supplied with this publication are subject to the licence conditions (specified in ‘Licence Agreement for Digital Products’). The data are supplied on the understanding that they are for the sole use of the licensee and will not be redistributed in any form, in whole or in part, to third parties. Any references to proprietary software in the documentation, and/or any use of proprietary data formats in this release, do not constitute endorsement by the EUB/AGS of any manufacturer's product. If this product is an EUB/AGS Special Report, the information is provided as received from the author and has not been edited for conformity to EUB/AGS standards. When using information from this publication in other publications or presentations, due acknowledgment should be given to the EUB/AGS. The following reference format is recommended: Langenberg, C.W., Beaton, A. and Berhane, H. (2002): Regional evaluation of the coalbed methane potential of the Foothills/Mountains of Alberta (second edition); Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, EUB/AGS Earth Sciences Report 2002-05. Published October 2002 by: Alberta Energy and Utilities Board Alberta Geological Survey 4th Floor, Twin Atria Building 4999 – 98th Avenue Edmonton, Alberta T6B 2X3 Tel: (780) 422-3767 (Information Sales) Fax: (780) 422-1918 Web site: www.ags.gov.ab.ca EUB/AGS Earth Sciences Report 2002-05 (October 2002) • ii Contents Acknowledgments .....................................................................................................................................vi Abstract .....................................................................................................................................................vii 1 Introduction .........................................................................................................................................1 2 Geology of Foothills/Mountains Coal Zones ...................................................................................1 2.1 Kootenay Coal Zone ...................................................................................................................1 2.2 Gething Coal Zone ......................................................................................................................4 2.3 Gates Coal Zone ..........................................................................................................................4 2.4 Brazeau–St. Mary River Coal Zone ............................................................................................5 2.5 Coalspur Coal Zone ....................................................................................................................5 3 Methodology ........................................................................................................................................5 3.1 Coal Areas ....................................................................................................................................6 3.2 Cross-Sections ..............................................................................................................................7 3.3 Vitrinite Reflectance Data and Rank ..........................................................................................7 3.4 Gas Content ..................................................................................................................................9 4 Previous Coalbed Methane Exploration in the Alberta Foothills/Mountains ............................10 4.1 Kootenay Group Coal ................................................................................................................10 4.2 Gates Formation Coal ................................................................................................................13 4.3 Coalspur and Brazeau Formation Coal ......................................................................................14 5 Areal Extent and Gas Content of Coal Zones ................................................................................14 5.1 Map Area NTS 83L (Wapiti) ....................................................................................................14 5.1.1 Shallow Brazeau Coal Zone ........................................................................................18 5.1.2 Shallow Gates Coal Zone ............................................................................................18 5.1.3 Deep Gates Coal Zone ................................................................................................19 5.1.4 Shallow Gething Coal Zone ........................................................................................19 5.1.5 Deep Gething Coal Zone ..............................................................................................19 5.2 Map Area NTS 83E (Mount Robson) ........................................................................................19 5.2.1 Shallow Coalspur Coal Zone ......................................................................................21 5.2.2 Shallow Brazeau Coal Zone ........................................................................................21 5.2.3 Shallow Gates Coal Zone ............................................................................................22 5.2.4 Deep Gates Coal Zone ..................................................................................................22 5.3 Map Area NTS 83F (Edson) ......................................................................................................22 5.3.1 Shallow Coalspur Coal Zone ......................................................................................24 5.3.2 Shallow Brazeau Coal Zone ........................................................................................25 5.3.3 Shallow Gates Coal Zone ............................................................................................25 5.3.4 Deep Gates Coal Zone ................................................................................................25 5.4 Map Area NTS 83C (Brazeau) ..................................................................................................25 5.4.1 Shallow Coalspur Coal Zone ......................................................................................28 5.4.2 Shallow Brazeau Coal Zone ........................................................................................28 5.4.3 Shallow Gates Coal Zone ............................................................................................28 5.4.4 Deep Gates Coal Zone ................................................................................................29 5.5 Map Area NTS 83B (Rocky Mountain House) ........................................................................29 5.5.1 Shallow Coalspur Coal Zone ......................................................................................29 5.5.2 Shallow Brazeau Coal Zone ........................................................................................29 5.5.3 Shallow Gates Coal Zone ............................................................................................29 5.5.4 Deep Gates Coal Zone ................................................................................................31 5.6 Map Area NTS 82O (Calgary) ..................................................................................................31 EUB/AGS Earth Sciences Report 2002-05 (October 2002) • iii 5.6.1 Shallow Brazeau Coal Zone ........................................................................................33 5.6.2 Shallow Gates Coal Zone ............................................................................................33 5.6.3 Shallow Kootenay Coal Zone ......................................................................................34 5.6.4 Deep Kootenay Coal Zone ..........................................................................................34 5.7 Map Area NTS 82J (Kananaskis Lakes) ..................................................................................34 5.7.1 Shallow St. Mary River Formation ..............................................................................34 5.7.2 Shallow Kootenay Coal Zone ......................................................................................36 5.7.3 Deep Kootenay Coal Zone ..........................................................................................36 5.8 Map Area NTS 82G (Fernie) ....................................................................................................36 5.8.1 Shallow Kootenay Coal Zone ......................................................................................38 5.8.2 Deep Kootenay Coal Zone ..........................................................................................38
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