Reports from Cooperative Research

Link to the final report
PDF, 7MB

West Virginia Mine Pool Pump Storage Final Report, June 2020
Final report by the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey (WVGES), with support of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), under State Energy Program Award Number DE-EE0007991, and facilitated by ongoing work by WVGES' Coal Bed Mapping Project (CBMP).

WVGES examined all underground mines in the state to access their potential as mine pairs for a Mine Pool Pump Storage facility. A mine pair is defined as a lower target mine and an upper storage reservoir mine or surface reservoir. The project expanded on previous work done by McColloch, et al, 2008 (on this page) which examined 19 seams for potential water supplies to encompass all coal mines in the state. A workflow plan was created utilizing various ArcGIS tools to examine the WVGE's extensive Coal Bed Mapping Project (CBMP) database and Mine Information Database System (MIDS) to identify mine pool pairs from approximately 9,600 mapped underground mine polygons.

A Geologic Study to Determine the Potential to Create an Appalachian Storage Hub for Natural Gas Liquids
Editors: Kristin M. Carter and Douglas G. Patchen
Authors: Kristin M. Carter, Douglas G. Patchen, Jessica P. Moore, Mohammad Fakhari, Gary W. Daft, Jr., Michael Solis, Brian J. Dunst, Robin V. Anthony, Katherine W. Schmid, Kyle Metz, Philip Dinterman, Julie M. Bloxson, Erica N. Schubert, John Saucer
With Contributions From: Antonette Markowski, Stephen Shank, Ellen Davis, Lindsey Ditzler, Irma Drndar, Eric Hirschfeld, Michael E. Hohn, John Bocan, Michael Angle
2017

This year-long geologic investigation studied potential subsurface storage of natural gas liquids (NGLs), namely ethane, from the Marcellus and Utica-Pt. Pleasant gas plays in eastern Ohio, northern West Virginia, and southwestern Pennsylvania. Development of these wet-gas producing plays will have a large impact on the petrochemical industry. The ASH web site contains a wealth of resources including reports, data, maps, presentations, and stratigraphic correlation diagrams.

Link to the final report
PDF, 18.7MB - large!

Development of Subsurface Brine Disposal Framework in the Northern Appalachian Basin
A project funded by the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA). Battelle Memorial Institute contracted WVGES along with the Kentucky Geological Survey, NSI Technologies, Ohio Division of Geological Survey, Pennsylvania Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Survey, and Ohio Oil Gathering Corporation to conduct the study.
2015, 412 pages

The objective of this 2.5-year project was to develop a geologic and operational framework for brine disposal in the Northern Appalachian Basin.

Link to the report
PDF, 13.7MB - large!

West Virginia Mine Pool Atlas
Jane S. McColloch (Principal Investigator),
Richard D. Binns, Jr., Bascombe M. Blake, Jr., Michael T. Clifford, and Sarah E. Gooding (Co-Investigators)
2012
Inter-Agency Agreement Number 036, 172 pages, 110 figures, 8 tables, 4 appendices

This project was a two-year study to evaluate abandoned coal mines as potential groundwater sources.

A Geologic Play Book for Utica Shale Appalachian Basin Exploration
Editors: Douglas G. Patchen and Kristin M. Carter
Authors: John Hickman, Cortland Eble, Ronald A. Riley, Matthew Erenpreiss, Kristin M. Carter, John A. Harper, Brian Dunst, Langhorne "Taury" Smith, Michele L. Cooney, Daniel Soeder, Garrecht Metzger, Jessica Moore, Michael E. Hohn, Susan Pool, John Saucer, Douglas G. Patchen
With Contributions From: John Barnes, Mohammad D. Fakhar, David Fike, James Leone, Thomas Mroz, John Repetski, Juergen Schieber
2012

This two-year study examined the Utica and Point Pleasant formations at various granularities, ranging from basin-scale stratigraphy and architecture to the creation of nano-porosity as gas was generated from organic matter in the reservoir.

Link to the report
PDF, 4MB

Research Support Program for the West Virginia Division of Energy; Final Report (Phase 2)
Douglas Patchen (Project Manager), Richard Bajura (Principal Investigator)
Tim Carr and Michael Hohn (Co-Investigators)
2011
62 pages, 33 figures, 1 appendix

This report presents the findings of an assessment conducted on the potential location of a coal-to-liquids production plant or geologic storage of CO2 in deep saline aquifers in Devonian or Silurian sandstones in West Virginia.

Link to the report
PDF, 290kB

Identifying Constraints on Increased Natural Gas Production in Southern West Virginia by Katharine Lee Avary
       and
Creating a Statewide Digital Pipeline Map by Michael Clifford
2009
13 pages

This map and report is an examination of geographic and temporal trends in gas production in West Virginia through the creation of a digital oil and gas pipeline map of West Virginia to show approximate gas transport capacity and distribution capability.

Improving the Availability and Delivery of Critical Information for Tight Gas Resource Development in the Appalachian Basin
Mary C. Behling, Susan Pool, Douglas G. Patchen, and John A. Harper
2008

This web site provides public access to well-specific data and region-wide products for six significant regional tight-gas accumulations in the central Appalachian Basin with links to raw data (scanned well records, scanned wireline logs, digitized wireline logs, production data, core analysis reports, digital photographs of cores, scanned maps and cross-sections, and related data), an interactive map, and the final report.

Trenton-Black River Project Website and Final Report
Douglas G. Patchen, John B. Hickman, David C. Harris, James A. Drahovzal, Paul D. Lake, Langhorne B. Smith, Richard Nyahay, Rose Schulze, Ronald A. Riley, Mark T. Baranoski, Larry H. Wickstrom, Christopher D. Laughrey, Jaime Kostelnik, John A. Harper, Katharine Lee Avary, John Bocan, Michael Ed. Hohn and Ronald McDowell
2006

This web site presents the data and findings of a resource assessment model of Trenton-Black River reservoirs in New York, Ohio and West Virginia with links to raw data, presentations, an interactive map, interim and final reports.

Rome Trough Consortium final report and data distribution
David C. Harris, John B. Hickman, Mark T. Baranoski, James A. Drahovzal, Katharine Lee Avary, and Brandon C. Nuttall
2004

This report and supporting files contain the results of research conducted by the Rome Trough Consortium, a partnership of three state geological surveys, several energy industry companies and the U.S. Department of Energy. The Consortium was headed by the Kentucky Geological Survey, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky. Research was also conducted by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological Survey in Columbus, Ohio and the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey in Morgantown, West Virginia. This consortium was formed to gain a better understanding of the geology and deep hydrocarbon potential of the Rome Trough, a Cambrian-age depositional basin located in eastern Kentucky, northern West Virginia, and southeastern-most Ohio. The Consortium was initiated in January 1999, and research lasted 2 years, with a final project review and core workshop on January 24, 2001 at the Kentucky Geological Survey in Lexington, Kentucky. At this meeting members decided to continue research on core material that arrived near the end of the project. This report documents all research done through mid-2002. Significant new research resulted from the extra time allowed to continue this work.

Download the zip file (225 MB) for free or order a CD for a fee at this link.