Abstract/Excerpt

A “Pseudo” Kinetic Scheme for Modelling the Formation of Biogenic Methane

I. Warburton
BG Group, Reading, UK

Occurrences of biogenic methane are widespread and account for approximately 20% of the World’s known gas reserves. Despite this, very little exploration effort is directed specifically at finding biogenic methane primarily because it is difficult to predict its presence and the likely volumes. In terms of conventional hydrocarbons Basin Modelling is often used as an exploration aid, however in order to use Basin Modelling as a way of predicting the occurrence of biogenic gas one has to have a kinetic scheme which describes its formation as a function of time and temperature, to date no such scheme has been published.

This poster will describe a “pseudo” kinetic scheme for biogenic gas generation based on the optimum growth temperatures of approximately one hundred methanogenic bacteria. Examples of its use in 1, 2 and 3D Basin Modelling packages will be shown and the importance of sedimentation rates will be demonstrated.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #120098©2013 AAPG Hedberg Conference Petroleum Systems: Modeling the Past, Planning the Future, Nice, France, October 1-5, 2012