DNR Advisory Bulletin 
Mine Maps with Oil and Gas Data

A recent incident involving conventional mining equipment prompted an enhancement to the Underground Mine Mapping Web site.  A mining crew of 12 narrowly escaped serious, if not fatal, injury when the equipment penetrated the outer well casing of an active gas well.  Unfortunately, the company had not identified the gas well on any of the mine map projections submitted.  Gas was detected and the miners evacuated, avoiding what could have been a major disaster.  Created in 2003 as a safety initiative, the KY Mine Mapping Web site is a valuable resource to all individuals involved in the mining of coal.  The oil and gas well data (or theme) shown at right, can be used in conjunction with the mine maps to prevent tragic accidents. 

Background

The Mine Mapping site previously used an interface to the oil and gas well data from the Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS), which is a coordinated effort between the KGS and the Division of Oil and Gas Conservation.

Enhancement

To alleviate any time lapse in the dissemination of this critical data, the project team developed a process to link directly to the database at the Division of Oil and Gas Conservation (DOGC).  The permit data from the DOGC contains location, depth, type, surface elevation and ownership.  The new Oil&Gas theme is updated daily as an extract from the Oil & Gas database and may be downloaded in NAD83 Decimal Degrees or Kentucky Single Zone from http://minemaps.ky.gov/Default.aspx?Src=Downloads. This theme should be utilized in addition to the current oil and gas well theme published by the Kentucky Geological Survey at http://kgsweb.uky.edu/download/geology/ogwells.html, which includes locations of non-permitted historical wells that may not appear in the DOGC database.  Therefore, it is highly recommended that both themes be reviewed to assure completeness even though duplicate data will be encountered in most cases.

Please be advised that the DOGC oil and gas well theme extract is under continuing development, and enhancements may be encountered from time to time without notice.  Future versions of this extract will include value added information and historical non-permitted well locations provided by KGS so that a comprehensive analysis may be conducted from a single source.

At the current time, this enhancement coupled with existing data from KGS ensures that the mining community will have the latest updates on any wells permitted, and historical data not covered by the DOGC Oil and Gas Well Database.  A reminder that the Mine Mapping Web site is a tool and should be used to augment your professional mining documentation.