Impact of in-seam drilling performance on coal seam gas production and remaining gas distribution

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 328
Author(s):  
Fengde Zhou ◽  
Glen Fernandes ◽  
Joao Luft ◽  
Kai Ma ◽  
Mahmoud Oraby ◽  
...  

Drilling horizontal wells in low permeability coal seams is a key technology to increase the drainage area of a well, and hence, decrease costs. It’s unavoidable that some parts of the horizontal section will be drilled outside the targeted coal seam due to unforeseen subsurface conditions, such as sub-seismic faulting, seam rolls, basic geosteering tools, drilling practices and limited experiences. Therefore, understanding the impact of horizontal in-seam drilling performance on coal seam gas (CSG) production and remaining gas distribution is an important consideration in drilling and field development plans. This study presents a new workflow to investigate the impact of horizontal in-seam performance on CSG production and gas distribution for coal seams with different porosity, permeability, permeability anisotropy, initial gas content (GC), initial gas saturation and the ratio of in-coal length to in-seam length (RIIL). First, a box model with an area of 2 km × 0.3 km × 6 m was used for conceptual simulations. Reduction indexes of the cumulative gas production at the end of 10 years of simulations were compared. Then, a current Chevron well consisting of a vertical well and two lateral wells, was selected as a case study in which the impact of outside coal drilling on history matching and remaining gas distribution were analysed. Results show that the RIIL plays an increasing role for cases with decreasing permeability or initial gas saturation, while it plays a very similar role for cases with varied porosity, permeability anisotropy and GC. The size and location of outside coal drilling will affect the CSG production and remaining gas distribution.

2015 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 1013-1028 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Zhang ◽  
Naj Aziz ◽  
Ting Ren ◽  
Jan Nemcik ◽  
Shihao Tu

Abstract Several mines operating in the Bulli seam of the Sydney Basin in NSW, Australia are experiencing difficulties in reducing gas content within the available drainage lead time in various sections of the coal deposit. Increased density of drainage boreholes has proven to be ineffective, particularly in sections of the coal seam rich in CO2. Plus with the increasing worldwide concern on green house gas reduction and clean energy utilisation, significant attention is paid to develop a more practical and economical method of enhancing the gas recovery from coal seams. A technology based on N2 injection was proposed to flush the Coal Seam Gas (CSG) out of coal and enhance the gas drainage process. In this study, laboratory tests on CO2 and CH4 gas recovery from coal by N2 injection are described and results show that N2 flushing has a significant impact on the CO2 and CH4 desorption and removal from coal. During the flushing stage, it was found that N2 flushing plays a more effective role in reducing adsorbed CH4 than CO2. Comparatively, during the desorption stage, the study shows gas desorption after N2 flushing plays a more effective role in reducing adsorbed CO2 than CH4.


2007 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 369
Author(s):  
G. Scott ◽  
C. Ammundsen

Access to water is a significant issue in Queensland as much of the State continues to be affected by a prolonged drought. Coal seam gas production involves extracting water from coal seams to reduce the groundwater pressure that keeps the methane trapped in the coal. This process produces large volumes of water. Local councils, primary producers and industrial developers are potential end users of this water; however, if the water is of poor quality, it may be unsuitable for release in the environment and for other direct beneficial uses.This paper examines the complex legislative and regulatory hurdles that need to be overcome before any mutually beneficial agreement between the coal seam gas producer and end user may be completed. It also examines an operational policy recently released by the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency that proposes a framework for the regulation and management of water extracted from coal seams.


1997 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 415 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.M. Faiz ◽  
A.C. Hutton

The coal seam gas content of the Late Permian Illawarra Coal Measures ranges from Methane that occurs within the basin was mainly derived as a by-product of coalification. Most of the CO2 was derived from intermittent magmatic activity between the Triassic and the Tertiary. This gas has subsequently migrated, mainly in solution, towards structural highs and accumulated in anticlines and near sealed faults.The total desorbable gas content of the coal seams is mainly related to depth, gas composition and geological structure. At depths


2014 ◽  
Vol 962-965 ◽  
pp. 1169-1174
Author(s):  
Hong Qing Zhu ◽  
Bei Fang Gu ◽  
Min Bo Zhang ◽  
Chao Yu ◽  
Zhen Zhang

In order to reduce the danger of single coal seams outburst during the tunneling in coal roadway and ensure the tunneling of coal seams, this text analyzed the mechanism of crossing drilling against outburst; studied the area measures of floor tunnel crossing and grid drainage boreholes in coal roadway, Designed and optimized the drilling technical parameters; Analyzed the relationship between the drainage concentration and scalar; Calculated the maximum overlying coal seam gas to spare scalar quantity is 224300 m3 ;Used a variety of indicators to investigate the effect of outburst prevention. It shows that Gas content and gas pressure have significant lower than drainage. After the drainage up to standard, all the sensitive indexes is not overrun, during the coal roadway tunneling, it does not appears dynamic phenomenon. Solve the problem of mining imbalances, guaranteed the safety driving of roadway.


2006 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 343 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Draper ◽  
C.J. Boreham

Methane is present in all coals, but a number of geological factors influence the potential economic concentration of gas. The key factors are (1) depositional environment, (2) tectonic and structural setting, (3) rank and gas generation, (4) gas content, (5) permeability, and (6) hydrogeology. Commercial coal seam gas production in Queensland has been entirely from the Permian coals of the Bowen Basin, but the Jurassic coals of the Surat and Clarence-Moreton basins are poised to deliver commercial gas volumes.Depositional environments range from fluvial to delta plain to paralic and marginal marine—coals in the Bowen Basin are laterally more continuous than those in the Surat and Clarence-Moreton basins. The tectonic and structural settings are important as they control the coal characteristics both in terms of deposition and burial history. The important coal seam gas seams were deposited in a foreland setting in the Bowen Basin and an intracratonic setting in the Surat and Clarence-Moreton basins. Both of these settings resulted in widespread coal deposition. The complex burial history of the Bowen Basin has resulted in a wide range of coal ranks and properties. Rank in the Bowen Basin coal seam gas fields varies from vitrinite reflectance of 0.55% to >1.1% Rv and from Rv 0.35-0.6% in the Surat and Clarence-Moreton basins in Queensland. High vitrinite coals provide optimal gas generation and cleat formation. The commercial gas fields and the prospective ones contain coals with >60% vitrinite.Gas generation in the Queensland basins is complex with isotopic studies indicating that biogenic gas, thermogenic gas and mixed gases are present. Biogenic processes occur at depths of up to a kilometre. Gas content is important, but lower gas contents can be economic if deliverability is good. Free gas is also present. Drilling and production techniques play an important role in making lower gas content coals viable. Since the Bowen and Surat basins are in a compressive regime, permeability becomes a defining parameter. Areas where the compression is offset by tensional forces provide the best chances for commercial coal seam gas production. Tensional setting such as anticline or structural hinges are important plays. Hydrodynamics control the production rate though water quality varies between the fields.


2009 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 541
Author(s):  
Wal Muir

Australian petroleum production reached record levels during 2008 due mainly to continued growth in gas production, particularly from coal seam gas in Queensland. Coal seam gas (CSG) has provided a major fillip to gas production in the east of the country, with four LNG projects slated for Curtin Island off Gladstone, and the Surat/Bowen Basin supplanting the Cooper Basin in gas production for the first time. Three new projects were brought on stream in the Carnarvon Basin, offsetting the projected natural decline of oil production in that basin. The pipeline of committed and planned projects continues to rise, with a number of major projects in the Carnarvon Basin moving closer to fruition and the Browse Basin likely to join the Carnarvon as a major LNG producer in the medium term. The impact of the global financial crisis, with a large number of countries which take Australia’s energy production in recession, is still being assessed. It appears that there may be a softening in costs, although the trends were not yet clear at year’s end.


Geofluids ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Zhang ◽  
Ting Ren ◽  
Naj Aziz ◽  
Cun Zhang

This paper presents the results of an evaluation study of gas drainability in the Bulli seam in the Southern Coalfield of the Sydney Basin, NSW, Australia, where the coal seam gas (CSG) contains a high proportion of carbon dioxide (CO2). Historically the gas drainability in some particular areas of this coal seam was found to be particularly poor, which posed a significant challenge to gas predrainage. As a result, a large volume of greenhouse gases were released to the atmosphere during mining of the coal seam. Furthermore, the high gas content associated with the CO2-rich composition also increased the risks of coal and gas outburst incidents, affecting the safety of mining. After systematic literature review of evaluation factors affecting gas drainability, this evaluation study comprehensively analyzed the main critical factors, including the geology of the area, the coal cleat system, coal microstructure, coal permeability, coal sorption capacity, gas content, and gas composition. Field geology analysis showed geological variations that affected the variations of the coal cleat system and CO2 content in the coal seam. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) tests showed the tight and less-porous features in hard-to-drain coal samples. The colliery gas database analysis was carried out to assess the impact of gas content and gas composition on the drainability of the coal seam. Laboratory tests showed that the coal seam had a permeability of less than 1 mD and also showed that the coal seam was highly undersaturated, especially with high CO2 content.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hajar Ali Abdulla Al Shehhi ◽  
Bondan Bernadi ◽  
Alia Belal Zuwaid Belal Al Shamsi ◽  
Shamma Jasem Al Hammadi ◽  
Fatima Omar Alawadhi ◽  
...  

Abstract Reservoir X is a marginal tight gas condensate reservoir located in Abu Dhabi with permeability of less than 0.05 mD. The field was conventionally developed with a few single horizontal wells, though sharp production decline was observed due to rapid pressure depletion. This study investigates the impact of converting the existing single horizontal wells into single long horizontal, dual laterals, triple laterals, fishbone design and hydraulic fracturing in improving well productivity. The existing wells design modifications were planned using a near reservoir simulator. The study evaluated the impact of length, trajectory, number of laterals and perforation intervals. For Single, dual, and triple lateral wells, additional simulation study with hydraulic fracturing was carried out. To evaluate and obtain effective comparisons, sector models with LGR was built to improve the simulation accuracy in areas near the wellbore. The study conducted a detailed investigation into the impact of various well designs on the well productivity. It was observed that maximizing the reservoir contact and targeting areas with high gas saturation led to significant increase in the well productivity. The simulation results revealed that longer laterals led to higher gas production rates. Dual lateral wells showed improved productivity when compared to single lateral wells. This incremental gain in the production was attributed to increased contact with the reservoir. The triple lateral well design yielded higher productivity compared to single and dual lateral wells. Hydraulic fracturing for single, dual, and triple lateral wells showed significant improvement in the gas production rates and reduced condensate banking near the wellbore. A detailed investigation into the fishbone design was carried out, this involved running sensitivity runs by varying the number of branches. Fishbone design showed considerable increment in production when compared to other well designs This paper demonstrates that increasing the reservoir contact and targeting specific areas of the reservoir with high gas saturation can lead to significant increase in the well productivity. The study also reveals that having longer and multiple laterals in the well leads to higher production rates. Hydraulic fracturing led to higher production gains. Fishbone well design with its multiple branches showed the most production again when compared to other well designs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Guiqiang Zheng ◽  
Bin Sun ◽  
Dawei Lv ◽  
Zhejun Pan ◽  
Huiqing Lian

Coalbed methane (CBM) reservoir properties and relationship of properties with burial depth were studied based on the data derived from 204 deep CBM production wells in Qinshui Basin, China. Through the study, it is found that permeability and porosity decrease with the increase of burial depth and the decreasing trend shows step-change characteristics at a critical burial depth. They also show divisional characteristics at certain burial depth. Gas content, geostress, and geotemperature increase with the increase of burial depth, and the increasing trend shows step-change characteristics and also have divisional characteristics at certain burial depth. Based on the previous study on the reservoir property changes with burial depth, three series of critical depth using different parameters are obtained through simulating the critical depth using the BP neural network method. It is found that the critical depth is different when using different parameters. Combined the previous study with the normalization of three different parameter types, the critical depth in Qinshui Basin was defined as shallow coal seam is lower than 650 m and transition band is 650–1000 m, while deep coal seam is deeper than 1000 m. In deep coal seams, the geological conditions and recovery becomes poor, so it can be defined as unfavorable zones. Therefore, other development means, for example, CO2 injection, need to be used to accelerate the deep coal methane development.


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