The key stage and moment of coalbed gas reservior evolution in the Qinshui Basin, China

The evolution of coalbed gas reservoir is characterized by coalbed gas geochemistry and gas content. On the basis of burial history and thermal history, the forming process of coalbed gas reservoir and the gas accumulative history in the Qinshui Basin are discussed in this paper. The difference of the thermal history, geochemistry characteristic,and gas accumulative history between Yangcheng and Huozhou areas shows that the formation of coalbed gas reservoir in the Qinshui Basin is controlled by the geological process in the critical stage and the critical moment. The components and isotopes of coalbed methane are determined by the stage at which the coal maturation reaches its maximum rank. The coalbed methane accumulative history is related to the temperature and pressure of the coal burial history, because the coalbed gas is mainly in adsorptive state.It is stated that the gas content in the coal seam is controlled by the moment when the coal seam is uplifted to the shallowest position.