The exploration and development of coal bed natural gas in the United States is a growing concern. In the last years, natural gas produced from coal seams amounted to approximately 7.5 percent of the overall natural gas production in the country. The development of this resource has created the need for public education, technology transfer, and the creation of methods to allow growth while minimizing impacts to the environment. ALL is working at the focal point of these issues and maintains a staff of seasoned professionals experienced in oil & gas, petroleum engineering, geology, hydrology, biology, soils, water resources, water treatment and disposal, underground injection, water management planning, Indian trust assets, environmental justice, public relations, archeological surveys, and project planning.
Project Management
Development of coal bed natural gas (CBNG) resources requires the integration of professional program leadership with effective application of technologies to provide cost effective and timely completion of CBNG regulatory and field application projects. Without effective leadership in the regulatory and field development areas, many CBNG projects will encounter delays and significant cost increases due to inefficient management of resources and undue regulatory burden.
ALL's staff is currently managing a number of CBM related projects ranging in value from a small feasibility study to a substantial CBM field development project. These projects have included preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement for the Bureau of Land Management concerning CBNG development in the Powder River Basin in Montana, Preparation of a Coal Bed Methane Best Management Practices handbook for the Department of Energy, and the complete development of a new CBM field.
ALL's staff of professionals is experienced in the management of small and large scale CBNG projects in both the regulatory and field development areas. ALL's project management professionals work with the client's team to offer successful implementation of processes, procedures, tools, and technologies for the cost effective development of CBNG properties. ALL's background in regulatory assistance, environmental compliance oversight, and oil and gas development makes us uniquely qualified to oversee the successful development of CBNG resources.
NEPA Documents
Development of coal bed natural gas is a highly sensitive subject in many areas. Water resources depletion and land use questions arise during planning for most coal bed methane fields and require the preparation of environmental planning documents for submittal to the regulatory agencies. NEPA documents including environmental assessments and water resource plans are typically required prior to approval of field development plans.
ALL's experience in the preparation of these documents for both operators and the regulatory agencies makes us uniquely qualified to prepare these environmental documents. Our experienced staff has prepared EIS and EA documents and categorical exclusions for various types of facilities. Our staff has completed the preparation of an EIS for the development of CBNG in the Powder River Basin and best management practices for CBM development for the Department of Energy.
ALL's staff of engineers, geologists, hydrogeologists, land use planners, and mapping specialists consists of experienced professionals with an average experience level of more than 20 years. ALL's background in environmental studies linked with our oil and gas background makes ALL one of the top resources for environmental resource planning and management for government and industry.
Environmental Permitting
Prior to the development of Coal Bed Methane resources, a number of environmental permits are required to be submitted to various state and Federal agencies. Some of the permits required include air permits for compressors, water discharge permits, injection well permits, project authorization requests for the Board of Oil and Gas, and other permits for various State and Federal agencies. Failure to prepare these permits in a timely fashion can cause the development project to be come stalled while waiting for approvals from agencies.
ALL Consulting has been working in the oil and gas environmental field for a number of years and has considerable experience in the preparation and review of environmental permits. ALL has worked with many of the State Oil and Gas Agencies as a consultant and is known and respected by most of the agencies involved in the permitting of CBNG development projects.
GIS
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is gaining a strong foothold in CBNG research and development. Operator can now spatially analyze vast quantities of data, allowing them to target areas of maximum production while minimizing their overall investment. These operators are learning how to more effectively manage issues directly related to both exploration and the daily operations of their business, including leasing and land issues, water production, permitting, and overall environmental management of the site. ALL Consulting can help you pinpoint where and how to develop your resource.
Water Management
Management of Produced Water is certainly one of the top issues for producers, regulatory officials and land managers. Issues can range from the preparation of water management plans for a project, approaches for reducing lifting costs, monitoring and analysis, permitting, beneficial use of produced water, and water disposal.
Water Management Plans
Development of plans for an entire project requires support from a broad mix of disciplines that are experienced with oil & gas, water management and environmental issues. ALL has experienced developing and supporting a variety of water management plans related to oil & gas/CBNG, groundwater management plans, wellhead protection studies, and other reports. Our staff includes Petroleum Engineers, Geologists/Hydrogeologists, Hydrologists, GIS/Mapping Specialists, Biologists, Economists', Agricultural/Soils Engineers, and other specialists that can support both large and small projects.
Injection
ALL's expertise includes use of shallow and deep injection well technology for Aquifer Storage/Recovery, Aquifer Recharge, Re-Injection, and Disposal. We have designed, permitted and constructed numerous Class V injection wells and countless Class I and II injection wells nationally.
Impoundments
Development of CBM resources often requires the innovative use of various types of impoundments. ALL has experienced with siting and evaluation, design, and permitting (as necessary).
Surface Discharge
Whether using rate-based or flow-based discharge, ALL is experienced with addressing discharge issues, including pre-treatment and permitting. Our staff includes former state and regulatory officials (including EPA) that have substantial experience dealing with permitting and enforcement issues.
Beneficial Use
ALL has experience with respect to several beneficial use and reuse issues that apply to produced water. ALL's staff have supported water reuse systems for 20 years in a broad variety of applications and scenarios. Our staff includes engineers, hydrologists, groundwater scientists, biologists, and water rights specialists.
Data Management
Development and continued operation of coal bed natural gas throughout the United States is gaining momentum. Along with this momentum come several regulatory and environmental processes, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and several state environmental policy acts (e.g., Montana). Development of these valuable resources requires consideration of data involving air, water, waste, cultural and paleontological resources, wildlife, economics, social issues, as well as many other sensitive and complex issues.
ALL maintains expertise in the full suite of disciplines that must be considered as part of CBNG development as well as the development of conventional oil & gas resources. We have worked in more than 25 oil & gas producing states, developed complex enterprise level data systems, and are recognized nationally for our expertise with handling natural resources, environmental, accounting, and other sorts of data and information. Some of the services we provide include custom application development, data manipulation and integration, legacy data conversion, eCommerce, spatial analysis using GIS technology, software integration, and an assortment of Internet-based solutions. We are also proficient at data acquisition and maintain information on nearly 2 million oil & gas wells from 15 states.
In addition to data management, ALL provides custom data analysis tools using numeric, graphic, and mapping technologies. We have a skilled GIS group and offer custom GIS and mapping solution, including applications such as ESRI's ArcView, ArcInfo, ArcIMS, ArcPad, etc. Our applications are used by both government and industry and we have developed several effective data analysis procedures that can benefit the preparation of permits, NEPA documents, water management plans, and other plans, reports and analyses.