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Fossil Fuel and Geothermal Energy Sources for Local Use in Alaska Chapter A, Introduction State of Alaska Coal Regulatory Program and the specific regulations for coal mining in Alaska can be downloaded from this website: http://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/mining/coal/ index.htm. It seems unlikely that any coals in rural areas of the state would be mined by underground methods for safety issues alone, without even considering the much higher cost of extracting coal from underground mining operations. The most common surface mining method for coal is strip or area mining. Strip mining exposes the coal by removing the overburden in long cuts or strips by excavator or shovel. GEOLOGIC REQUIREMENTS FOR EXPLOITABLE CONVENTIONAL OIL AND GAS RESOURCES by Paul L. Decker For the purposes of this resource inventory, conventional oil and gas resources are hydrocarbons that will flow to extraction wells without first having to make dramatic changes to either the reservoir rock or the reservoir fluids. This distinguishes them from various unconventional oil and gas resources, which may require massive reservoir stimulation to create permeable conduits (tight gas sands, shale oil, and shale gas), thermal or chemical treatments to reduce oil viscosity (heavy oil and tar sands), or dewatering to promote the relative permeability of gas (coalbed methane). The formation of conventional hydrocarbon accumulations hinges on a series of crucial geologic processes unfolding in the proper sequence over millions or, in some cases, hundreds of millions of years. When all the necessary components are present, effective, and have had the proper interactions, they are said to make up a conventional petroleum system (Magoon and Dow, 1994). Alaska is an amalgamation of diverse geologic provinces that have had very different geologic histories. Some settings, such as the North Slope and Cook Inlet, hosted all the processes needed to generate rich fossil-fuel resources. Conditions across much of the rest of Alaska are known to have been less favorable; certain elements of the petroleum system are either missing or they developed in the wrong sequence, ruling out the presence of conventional oil and gas resources. Finally, there are portions of the state where subsurface exploration has not yet determined whether conventional hydrocarbon resources may someday be produced commercially, or could help satisfy rural energy demand. This section describes the four basic elements of conventional petroleum systems—source, reservoir, trap, and seal—and their roles in giving rise to conventional oil and gas accumulations. Oil source rocks (usually black shales or limestones) contain elevated levels of organic molecules rich in carbon and hydrogen that, when heated slowly to the right temperature (typically greater than about 212 degrees Fahrenheit [212oF; >100 degrees Celsius, 100oC]), react to form the mix of chainlike hydrocarbon molecules we call crude oil. The part of a basin that is buried deeply enough to cause this thermal conversion is called ‘the kitchen.’ With continued burial and increased heating of ‘the kitchen’ (above about 300°F [150°C]), these same rocks generate less oil but expel increasing amounts of the lighter, smaller hydrocarbon molecules (mainly methane) that make up natural gas. Source rocks that start out rich in carbon but leaner in hydrogen (including coals as well as many shales and limestones) can generate natural gas but not the more hydrogen-rich liquid hydrocarbons. Apart from the thermally driven maturation that accompanies deep burial, natural gas can also be created in low-temperature (175°F [<80°C]) environments by bacterial decay of coal or peat beds. If this biogenic gas forms at or very near the surface, it commonly bubbles away into the atmosphere. However, if it originates at greater depths, the gas may dissolve into the waters surrounding it and remain trapped in the source coal unless subsequent uplift reduces the pressure and allows gas to break out of solution to form a separate vapor phase. Whether of thermogenic or biogenic origin, once oil or gas exists as a liquid or vapor phase separate from the surrounding pore waters, buoyancy quickly drives the hydrocarbons to migrate from the source area, following the path of least resistance through the most permeable strata they encounter. Conventional reservoir rocks are porous, permeable formations that can store oil and gas in the pore spaces between grains and later allow them to flow out of the rock into wellbores, where they can be recovered. Some of the most efficient petroleum systems have high-quality reservoir formations that closely overlie the source rock unit and serve as conduits for hydrocarbons migrating up and out of the ‘kitchen’ area toward traps closer to the basin edge. Only where these porous, permeable rocks are enclosed in trapping geometries do hydrocarbons stop migrating and accumulate in the reservoir rock to form conventional oil or gas accumulations. The quality of a reservoir depends on several variables, notably its porosity (expressed as a percentage of the total rock volume), permeability, thickness, uniformity, continuity, and hydrocarbon saturation. These factors govern both the recoverable volume of hydrocarbons contained per unit area, and the rate at which oil and gas can be produced. Effective traps consist of reservoir rock layers overlain and/or laterally bounded by impermeable seal rock, and are of two basic types. Structural traps occur where the rock layers are deformed by folding or faulting to form concave- downward shapes capable of containing buoyant fluids such as oil and gas. Stratigraphic traps occur where porous, permeable reservoir rocks are encased in impermeable seal rocks as a result of non-uniform deposition of sediments. For example, clean sands on a wave-worked beach may grade laterally into a muddy offshore setting, and with time, the Page 3 IntroductionPDF Image | FOSSIL FUEL AND GEOTHERMAL ENERGY SOURCES FOR LOCAL USE
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