While the West Virginia Supreme Court grappled in September with who owns the gas that runs through the states coal seams, 180 leaders of the regions coal and natural gas industries met today (Oct. 29) to assess the complex issues associated with developing this gas as an energy resource.

The West Virginia Coal Bed Natural Gas Workshop at Stonewall Resort was an outgrowth of the West Virginia Energy Roadmap developed by the Governors Energy Task Force. The National Research Center for Coal and Energy at West Virginia University and the West Virginia Development Office organized the event.

Economic development and energy are closely linked,said Jeff Herholdt, who commissioned the workshop as manager of energy efficiency at the Economic Development Office.Coal bed natural gas represents significant development opportunities for West Virginia.

We came here to learn from industry leaders what the current issues are and how to further coal bed natural gas as an energy resource,Herholdt added.

The goal is to assess West Virginias statutes, rules, regulations, ownership and development issues in this area.This resource could mean tens of millions of dollars to the states economy,said committee chair Doug Patchen of the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council at the NRCCE .

Herholdt said the Office of Economic Development is looking for the best ways to expand coal bed natural gas production and will follow up on the input given at the workshop.

We actively recruited natural gas and coal industry involvement,he said.This workshop was rather unique in that it focused on interactive sessions as opposed to speaker presentations.

Agenda topics included resource potential and location of coal bed natural gas in West Virginia; coal bed natural gas as a greenhouse gas; and pooling, unitization and field rule approaches in Virginia and West Virginia. Interactive group discussions covered ownership, landowner and regulatory issues as well as infrastructure and economic impediments and incentives.

The workshop was planned to coincide with the North American Coal Bed Methane Forums annual meeting Thursday, Oct. 30, at Stonewall Resort.

The forum is dedicated to the technical issues associated with coal bed natural gas production,Patchen said.We worked with the forums organizers to offer interested individuals the chance to form a comprehensive view of the legal and technical challenges in the same setting.

Partial funding for the Energy Roadmap Workshop Series is provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, NRCCE , WVU College of Business and Economics and WVDO .

The series continues with a meeting on hydrogen Nov. 19 and energy infrastructure Dec. 11 at Stonewall Resort.

For more information and final reports, go to http://www.wvenergyroadmapworkshops.org .