Old
King Coal gets a makeover – researchers look at new
ways to tease energy from an old fuel
with
Mark Bustin, The University of British Columbia
Canada has vast resources of coalbed methane gas. These reserves,
located mainly in western Canada where a petroleum infrastructure
already exists, become increasingly attractive as demand for
natural gas increases and conventional reserves decline. Coalbed
methane is unique in that gas has a much higher volume of
gas per volume of rock at shallow depths than found in conventional
gas reservoirs. The latest research also suggests that the
injection of flue gases or carbon dioxide into the coal seams
can enhance methane production and possibly also result in
permanent sequestration of greenhouse gases. But devising
efficient and environmentally safe production technologies
for this fuel comes with many real and perceived challenges.
R. Marc Bustin has been studying the factors that control
the distribution, type and production of gas from coal for
the last 25 years. He is a Professor in the Department of
Earth and Ocean Sciences at The University of British Columbia
and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He is a recipient
of the Thiesson Medal for his contributions to coal science
and the Canadian Society for Unconventional Gas (CSUG) Annual
Achievement Award, sponsored by Sproule, for contributions
to the study of unconventional gas resources.
DATE: Thursday, February 10, 2005 from 7:30 am - 9:00 am
PLACE: Room 200, West Block, Parliament Hill, Ottawa
COST: No charge to Members of the House of Commons, Senators
& Media. All others - $10
PRE-REGISTRATION by Monday February 7th is required. Please
register by contacting Donna Boag, PAGSE Coordinator, email:
pagse@rsc.ca, tel: (613) 991-6369, fax: (613) 991-6996.
Organized by: The Partnership Group for Science and Engineering
(PAGSE)
Sponsored by:
--the Speaker of the Senate, the Hon. Daniel Hays
--the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Hon. Peter Milliken
--Science and Engineering Research Canada (NSERC)
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