Overview of the Coalbed Methane Potential of Tertiary Coal Basins in the Interior of British Columbia

The interior of British Columbia contains a number of fault bounded Tertiary basins that contain coal (Figure 1). This paper brings together existing data that aids in assessing the coalbed methane (CBM) potential of the basins and presents new data on some of the basins. The CBM potential of the basins ranges from up to 1 tcf at Hat Creek to a few bcf at Coal River. In all cases the resources of the basins are poorly defined leaving open the possibility that aggressive and imaginative exploration will be successful in increasing resource estimates. The size and location of the basins may mean that they cannot be developed as conventional CBM fields. Markets may be local communities or industries and distribution may avoid compression costs.