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GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. — Although the Piceance Basin is the target of a coal bed methane study, state agencies don't think the alternate source of natural gas is looming on the horizon.
The Colorado Geological Survey and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) and the state Division of Water Resources held a public meeting at city hall in Rifle Friday afternoon introducing the study and inviting public comment.
Besides the Piceance, the study will also focus on the Raton and San Juan Basins, which both produce large quantities of coal bed methane (CBM).
In drilling for CBM, water is pumped out of the hole to release the trapped gas within a coal seam. Disposal of the produced water, which is often highly saline, has caused problems in some areas where it is discharged onto the ground surface or into streams.
"(The idea for the study) started in the San Juan Basin. Sen. (Jim) Isgar's constituents had concerns about stream depletion and water availability," said Dick Wolfe, assistant state engineer with the Division of Water Resources.
State legislators directed the agencies to include the Raton and Piceance basins in the study.
Wolfe also noted the Piceance Basin in western Colorado is the least productive for CBM in the state.
The goal of the study is to determine the potential impacts on surface water - streams, seeps and springs - which could be drawn down by drilling into coal seams and withdrawing water.
What the study will not do is look at other potential impacts of CBM development such as air and water quality, which have aroused the concerns of residents where oil and gas drilling is going on.
Within the Piceance, there are about 80 CBM wells, said COGCC environmental specialist Debbie Baldwin, compared to 1,800 wells in the Colorado portion of the San Juan Basin.
A handful of oil and gas companies, including EnCana and Conoco Phillips, have drilled pilot CBM wells in the Piceance but they have not been productive. Areas of the Piceance where CBM drilling could occur are on the fringes of the basin.
The potential for CBM development in western Colorado, Baldwin said, is unknown at this time
"That's one thing we'll be scratching our heads about. It's difficult to know," she said. Development in an area, which has so far not proven to be economically viable for CBM, would probably depend on the price of natural gas.
"If the price is up to $15 or $20 per million BTU" it might be considered worthwhile to pursue, she said. "We'll try to make some estimates."
Parachute town board member Judy Hayward also wondered how information about the study would be made available to the public.
Consultant Debbie Hathaway of Papadopulos and Assoc., who is conducting the study, said a draft report will be available on state agency Web sites. The public will have about 30 days to make comments on the draft at that point.
The study began in December and will continue through April. A final report is due out at the end of June, Hathaway said.
Baldwin also emphasized that the study has a relatively narrow focus.
"It's a first cut," she said, and will answer the question "is there an elephant in the room here? It's not intended to be the final answer."
The public is also invited to weigh in with any concerns about the study or with pertinent information.
For information about the study go to the Colorado Geological Survey Web site, http://geosurvey.state.co.us; the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, oil-gas.state.co.us; or the Colorado Division of Water Resources, water.state.co.us.
Contact Donna Gray: 945-8515, ext. 16605
dgray@postindependent.com
Post Independent, Glenwood Springs Colorado CO
The Colorado Geological Survey and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) and the state Division of Water Resources held a public meeting at city hall in Rifle Friday afternoon introducing the study and inviting public comment.
Besides the Piceance, the study will also focus on the Raton and San Juan Basins, which both produce large quantities of coal bed methane (CBM).
In drilling for CBM, water is pumped out of the hole to release the trapped gas within a coal seam. Disposal of the produced water, which is often highly saline, has caused problems in some areas where it is discharged onto the ground surface or into streams.
"(The idea for the study) started in the San Juan Basin. Sen. (Jim) Isgar's constituents had concerns about stream depletion and water availability," said Dick Wolfe, assistant state engineer with the Division of Water Resources.
State legislators directed the agencies to include the Raton and Piceance basins in the study.
Wolfe also noted the Piceance Basin in western Colorado is the least productive for CBM in the state.
The goal of the study is to determine the potential impacts on surface water - streams, seeps and springs - which could be drawn down by drilling into coal seams and withdrawing water.
What the study will not do is look at other potential impacts of CBM development such as air and water quality, which have aroused the concerns of residents where oil and gas drilling is going on.
Within the Piceance, there are about 80 CBM wells, said COGCC environmental specialist Debbie Baldwin, compared to 1,800 wells in the Colorado portion of the San Juan Basin.
A handful of oil and gas companies, including EnCana and Conoco Phillips, have drilled pilot CBM wells in the Piceance but they have not been productive. Areas of the Piceance where CBM drilling could occur are on the fringes of the basin.
The potential for CBM development in western Colorado, Baldwin said, is unknown at this time
"That's one thing we'll be scratching our heads about. It's difficult to know," she said. Development in an area, which has so far not proven to be economically viable for CBM, would probably depend on the price of natural gas.
"If the price is up to $15 or $20 per million BTU" it might be considered worthwhile to pursue, she said. "We'll try to make some estimates."
Parachute town board member Judy Hayward also wondered how information about the study would be made available to the public.
Consultant Debbie Hathaway of Papadopulos and Assoc., who is conducting the study, said a draft report will be available on state agency Web sites. The public will have about 30 days to make comments on the draft at that point.
The study began in December and will continue through April. A final report is due out at the end of June, Hathaway said.
Baldwin also emphasized that the study has a relatively narrow focus.
"It's a first cut," she said, and will answer the question "is there an elephant in the room here? It's not intended to be the final answer."
The public is also invited to weigh in with any concerns about the study or with pertinent information.
For information about the study go to the Colorado Geological Survey Web site, http://geosurvey.state.co.us; the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, oil-gas.state.co.us; or the Colorado Division of Water Resources, water.state.co.us.
Contact Donna Gray: 945-8515, ext. 16605
dgray@postindependent.com
Post Independent, Glenwood Springs Colorado CO
