Coalbed Gas Play in the Hula Valley, Israel

The Dead Sea Transform pull apart Hula Basin in Northern Israel forms a unique geological setting that was characterized in the Tertiary and Quaternary by continued subsidence, limited draining of the valley floor and wet conditions. These are ideal for the development of peat soils and their rapid burial, which resulted in the formation of coal beds. Gas produced in these beds accumulated in porous rocks above them or but primarily within the coal layers themselves ("Coalbed methane play" or CBM). The CBM is a relatively clean form of gas that is absorbed and trapped to the crystal structure of the source rock itself, the coal. The gas migrates within the coal layer in a liquid state dissolved in groundwater, and only minimal reduction of the hydrostatic pressure by pumping the water out allows its effective extraction. Over 40 wells in the Hula Valley targeted the porous and the CBM plays, with four of them producing coalbed gas in various quantities. Independent reserve estimation shows the existence of commercial quantities of gas in this play. Environmental and other strategic consideration may promote the development of the play into full scale production.