Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Reservoir Damage in Coalbed Methane Commingled Drainage Wells and Its Fatal Impact on Well Recovery

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Natural Resources Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Fluid backflow behavior and reservoir damage during methane commingled drainage from multiple coal seams were investigated via physical experiments and reservoir modeling. First, the initial water saturation of coal reservoir was determined by an experimental method, and then based on low-field nuclear magnetic resonance technology, coal imbibition and centrifugation tests were conducted to obtain gas permeability under different water saturation. Finally, a reservoir model was used to calculate the shut-in pressure and interlayer interference performance of the commingled drainage well. The following conclusions were derived from a case study of GP-2 well in the western Guizhou Basin. At the initial stage of commingled drainage, the wellbore serves as a medium for coordinating the energy of each production layer, allowing the fluids from the high-pressure production layer to flow back into low-pressure layers, thus creating a new stable system. Using inflow performance relationship curves, the initial shut-in pressure of GP-2 was determined to be 6753 kPa. Simulations demonstrate that pressure anomalies are a prerequisite for the presence of reverse fluids, the water imbibition and gas lock phenomenon would result in the loss of the irrecoverable permeability to reservoirs. The ideal average gas production rate of the commingled well is 3846 m3 d−1 for 3000 days of drainage, when ignoring reservoir damage only 6% interlayer interference was detected in the commingled drainage well, which may be disregarded in operation. In comparison, the ultimate interference coefficient of the commingled drainage well might be as low as -50% when water imbibition is factored in, and as much as 90% of CBM resource could not be produced with both water imbibition and gas lock in the reservoir. This research bridges the gap between reservoir dynamics and interference analysis and provides a basis for the favorable layer selection and drainage system establishment in commingled drainage wells.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9
Figure 10
Figure 11
Figure 12
Figure 13
Figure 14
Figure 15
Figure 16
Figure 17
Figure 18
Figure 19
Figure 20
Figure 21
Figure 22
Figure 23

Similar content being viewed by others

Data and Code Availability of Material

All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the submitted article.

Notes

  1. 1 mD = 1 millidarcy = 9.86923 × 10−16  m2.

  2. 1 cP = 10−3 Pa s = 1 mPa s.

References

  • Al-Dogail, A. S., Baarimah, S. O. & Basfar, S. A. (2018). Prediction of inflow performance relationship of a gas field using artificial intelligence techniques. SPE Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Annual Technical Symposium and Exhibition., OnePetro.

  • Banerjee, A., & Chatterjee, R. (2021). A methodology to estimate proximate and gas content saturation with lithological classification in coalbed methane reservoir, Bokaro field, India. Natural Resources Research, 30(3), 2413–2429.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beaton, A., Langenberg, W., & Pană, C. (2006). Coalbed methane resources and reservoir characteristics from the Alberta plains, Canada. International Journal of Coal Geology, 65(1–2), 93–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, Y., Luo, J., Hu, X., Yang, Y., Wei, C., & Yan, H. (2022). A new model for evaluating the compatibility of multi-coal seams and its application for coalbed methane recovery. Fuel, 317, 123464.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarkson, C. R., Rahmanian, M., Kantzas, A., & Morad, K. (2011). Relative permeability of CBM reservoirs: Controls on curve shape. International Journal of Coal Geology, 88(4), 204–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guo, C., Qin, Y., Sun, X., Wang, S., Xia, Y., Ma, D., Bian, H., Shi, Q., Chen, Y., Bao, Y., & Lu, L. (2021). Physical simulation and compatibility evaluation of multi-seam CBM co-production: Implications for the development of stacked CBM systems. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 204, 108702.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hao, S. (2021). Coupling thermal-fluid-solid modeling of drilling fluid seepage into coal seam borehole for CO2 sequestration. Singapore: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hu, Q., Liu, S., Sang, S., Fang, H., Tripathy, A., Yan, L., Qin, M., & Mao, C. (2020). Numerical analysis of drainage rate for multilayer drainage coalbed methane well group in southern Qinshui Basin. Energy Exploration & Exploitation, 38(5), 1535–1558.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang, H., Sang, S., Miao, Y., Song, H., Zhang, H., & Shen, G. (2014). Drainage control of single vertical well with multi- hydraulic fracturing layers for coalbed methane development. Journal of China Coal Society, 39(S2), 422–431.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jia, L., Peng, S., Xu, J., & Yan, F. (2021). Fluid response characteristics of multilayer superimposed CBM production under the different number of gas-producing layers condition. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 89, 103858.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ju, W., Yang, Z., Qin, Y., Yi, T., & Zhang, Z. (2018). Characteristics of in-situ stress state and prediction of the permeability in the upper Permian coalbed methane reservoir, Western Guizhou region, SW China. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 165, 199–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ju, W., Yang, Z., Shen, Y., Yang, H., Wang, G., Zhang, X., & Wang, S. (2021). Mechanism of pore pressure variation in multiple coal reservoirs, western Guizhou region, south China. Frontiers of Earth Science, 15(4), 770–789.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Langmuir, I. (1916). The constitution and fundamental properties of solids and liquids. Part I. Solids. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 38, 2221–2295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, Q., Xu, J., Peng, S., Yan, F., Zhou, B., Han, E., & Jiang, C. (2021). Physical simulations of gas production mechanism in constant-rate co-production from multiple coal reservoirs. Natural Resources Research, 30(2), 1427–1443.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, X., Fu, X., Ranjith, P. G., & Fang, Y. (2018). Retained water content after nitrogen driving water on flooding saturated high volatile bituminous coal using low-field nuclear magnetic resonance. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 57, 189–202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, Y., Yang, J., Pan, Z., Meng, S., Wang, K., & Niu, X. (2019). Unconventional natural gas accumulations in stacked deposits: A discussion of upper Paleozoic coal-bearing strata in the east margin of the Ordos basin, China. Acta Geologica Sinica-English Edition, 93(1), 111–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu, Y., Li, H., Lu, J., Shi, S., Wang, G. G. X., Ye, Q., Li, R., & Zhu, X. (2020). Clean up water blocking damage in coalbed methane reservoirs by microwave heating: Laboratory studies. Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 138, 292–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu, Z., Tao, M., Li, Q., Wu, P., Gu, S., Gao, W. & Yan, Z. (2022). Gas geochemistry and hydrochemical analysis of CBM origin and accumulation in the Tucheng syncline in western Guizhou province. Geochemical Journal, GJ22005.

  • Meng, S., Li, Y., Wang, L., Wang, K., & Pan, Z. (2018). A mathematical model for gas and water production from overlapping fractured coalbed methane and tight gas reservoirs. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 171, 959–973.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palmer, I. (2010). Coalbed methane completions: A world view. International Journal of Coal Geology, 82(3–4), 184–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peng, S., Jia, L., Xu, J., Zhang, C., Li, Q., & Han, E. (2020). The production schedule optimization of a multilayer superposed CBM system: An experimental study. Powder Technology, 373, 99–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qiao, X., Li, G., Li, M., Zhou, J., Du, J., Du, C., & Sun, Z. (2011). Influence of coal mining on regional karst groundwater system: A case study in west mountain area of Taiyuan city, northern China. Environmental Earth Sciences, 64(6), 1525–1535.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qin, Y., Xiong, M. H., Yi, T. S., Yang, Z. B., & Wu, C. F. (2008). On unattached multiple superposed coalbed-methane system: In a case of the Shuigonghe syncline, Zhijin-Nayong coalfield, Guizhou. Geological Review, 54(1), 65–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Qin, Y., Wu, J., Zhang, Z., Yi, T., Yang, Z., Jin, J., & Zhang, B. (2020). Analysis of geological conditions for coalbed methane co-production based on production characteristics in early stage of drainage. Journal of China Coal Society, 45(1), 241–257.

    Google Scholar 

  • Santiago, V., Ribeiro, A., & Hurter, S. (2021). Modeling the contribution of individual coal seams on commingled gas production. SPE Production & Operations, 36(01), 245–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quan, F., Wei, C., Feng, S., & Hu, Y. (2020). Physical experiment and numerical simulation of the depressurization rate for coalbed methane production. ACS Omega, 5(35), 22661–22673.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quan, F., Wei, C., Hao, S., Ma, J., Song, Y., & Lian, D. (2022a). Interference analysis of methane Co-Production from two coal seams in southern Qinshui basin. Natural Resources Research, 31(3), 1475–1502.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quan, F., Wei, C., Ma, J., Hao, S., & Song, Y. (2022b). Modeling analysis of coalbed methane co-production interference: A case study in Eastern Yunnan Basin, China. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 103, 104631.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seidle, J. P. & Erickson, D. J. (1993). Use of Vogel's inflow performance relation for coal wells. SPE Gas Technology Symposium., OnePetro.

  • Shahamat, M. S., Tabatabaie, S. H., Mattar, L. & Motamed, E. (2015). Inflow performance relationship for unconventional reservoirs (transient IPR). SPE/CSUR Unconventional Resources Conference., OnePetro.

  • Shen, J., Zhao, J., Qin, Y., Shen, Y., & Wang, G. (2018). Water imbibition and drainage of high rank coals in Qinshui basin, China. Fuel, 211, 48–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shen, Y., Qin, Y., Guo, Y., Yi, T., Yuan, X., & Shao, Y. (2016). Characteristics and sedimentary control of a coalbed methane-bearing system in Lopingian (late Permian) coal-bearing strata of western Guizhou province. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 33, 8–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, W. O., & Crane, M. D. (1930). The Jamin effect in cylindrical tubes. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 52(4), 1345–1349.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Song, Y., Jiang, B., Vandeginste, V., & Mathews, J. P. (2022). Deformation-related coalification: Significance for deformation within shallow crust. International Journal of Coal Geology, 256, 103999.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sugiarto, I., Mazumder, S., Wittemeier, R. & Sharma, V. (2015). Inflow performance relationship correlation of 2 phase CBM reservoir. SPE/IATMI Asia pacific oil and gas conference and exhibition. OnePetro.

  • Tang, S., Tang, D., Tang, J., Tao, S., Xu, H., & Geng, Y. (2017). Controlling factors of coalbed methane well productivity of multiple superposed coalbed methane systems: A case study on the Songhe mine field, Guizhou, china. Energy Exploration & Exploitation, 35(6), 665–684.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tian, J., Li, X., Fu, X., Li, G., Liu, M., Chen, Z., & Chang, H. (2022). Permeability loss of bituminous coal induced by water and salinity sensitivities: Implications of minerals’ occurrence and pore structure complexity. ACS Omega, 7(4), 3522–3539.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vogel, J. V. (1968). Inflow performance relationships for solution-gas drive wells. Journal of petroleum technology, 20(01), 83–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Z., & Qin, Y. (2019). Physical experiments of CBM coproduction: A case study in Laochang district, Yunnan province, China. Fuel, 239, 964–981.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Z., Qin, Y., Li, T., & Zhang, X. (2021). A numerical investigation of gas flow behavior in two-layered coal seams considering interlayer interference and heterogeneity. International journal of mining science and technology, 31(4), 699–716.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, R. (1933). Jamin effect in oil production. AAPG Bulletin, 17(12), 1521–1526.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu, C., Yang, Z., Qin, Y., Chen, J., Zhang, Z., & Li, Y. (2018). Characteristics of hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in produced water and productivity response of coalbed methane wells in western Guizhou. Energy & Fuels, 32(11), 11203–11211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, Z., Zhang, Z., Qin, Y., Congcong, W. U., Tongsheng, Y. I., Yangyang, L. I., Tang, J., & Chen, J. (2018). Optimization methods of production layer combination for coalbed methane development in multi-coal seams. Petroleum Exploration & Development, 45(2), 312–320.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, Z., Qin, Z., Wang, G., & Li, C. (2021). Environmental effects of water product from coalbed methane wells: A case study of the Songhe well group, western Guizhou, China. Natural Resources Research, 30(5), 3747–3760.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yao, Y., Liu, D., Che, Y., Tang, S., Tang, D., & Huang, W. (2010). Petrophysical characterization of coals by low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Fuel, 89(7), 1371–1380.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu, S., Bo, J., Ming, L., Chenliang, H., & Shaochun, X. (2020). A review on pore-fractures in tectonically deformed coals. Fuel, 278, 118248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu, S., Fangkai, Q., & Junhong, Y. (2022). Diffusion of guest molecules in coal: Insights from simulation. Fuel, 323, 124295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, J., Wei, C., Ju, W., Qin, Z., Ji, Y., Quan, F., & Hu, Y. (2020). Microscopic distribution and dynamic variation of water under stress in middle and high rank coal samples. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 79, 103369.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, J., Chu, X., Wei, C., Zhang, P., Zou, M., Wang, B., Quan, F., & Ju, W. (2022a). Review on the application of low-field nuclear magnetic resonance technology in coalbed methane production simulation. ACS Omega, 7(30), 26298–26307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, S., Tang, S., Meng, S., Xin, D., Zhang, Y. & Wang, X. (2022b). Water-bearing characteristics of coal reservoirs and its control mechanism on coalbed methane production. Journal of China Coal Society, 1–20.

  • Zhang, S., Wu, C., Fang, X., Liu, N., Jiang, X., & Han, J. (2022c). Mapping of stress sensitivity affected by water variation to microscopic pore distributions in medium- and high-rank coals. Natural Resources Research, 31(3), 1601–1619.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Z., Qin, Y., Bai, J., Li, G., Zhuang, X., & Wang, X. (2018). Hydrogeochemistry characteristics of produced waters from CBM wells in southern Qinshui basin and implications for CBM commingled development. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 56, 428–443.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Z., Qin, Y., Yang, Z., Jin, J., & Wu, C. (2019). Fluid energy characteristics and development potential of coalbed methane reservoirs with different synclines in Guizhou, China. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 71, 102981.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Z., Qin, Y., Wang, G., Sun, H., You, Z., Jin, J., & Yang, Z. (2021). Evaluation of coal body structures and their distributions by geophysical logging methods: Case study in the Laochang block, eastern Yunnan, China. Natural Resources Research, 30(3), 2225–2239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, Z., Tao, S., Tang, D., Chen, S., & Ren, P. (2020). A mathematical method to identify and forecast coal texture of multiple and thin coal seams by using logging data in the Panguan syncline, western Guizhou, China. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 185, 106616.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, X., Sang, S., Yi, T., Jin, J., Huang, H., & Hou, D. (2016). Damage mechanism of upper exposed producing layers during CBM multi-coal seam development. Natural Gas Industry, 36(6), 52–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zou, M., Wei, C., Huang, Z., & Wei, S. (2015). Porosity type analysis and permeability model for micro-trans-pores, meso-macro-pores and cleats of coal samples. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 27, 776–784.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zou, M., Wei, C., Huang, Z., Zhang, M., & Lv, X. (2016). Experimental study on identification diffusion pores, permeation pores and cleats of coal samples. Journal of Energy Resources Technology, 138(2), 021201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zou, M., Wei, S., Huang, Z., Lv, X., & Guo, B. (2018). Simulations on recoverability performances for a coalbed methane field in SE edge of Ordos basin, China. Fuel, 233, 354–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was sponsored by the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. BK20200663), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2020ZDPYZD03), Key Laboratory of Coalbed Methane Resources and Reservoir Formation Process of the Ministry of Education (China University of Mining and Technology) (No. 2020-009), and we also give our thanks to China Scholarship Council for supporting Fangkai Quan studying abroad.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Coal Bed Methane Resource and Reservoir Formation Process, Ministry of Education, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221008, China

    Fangkai Quan, Chongtao Wei, Shuqing Hao & Yu Song

  2. School of Resources and Earth Science, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, China

    Fangkai Quan, Chongtao Wei, Shuqing Hao & Yu Song

  3. Research Center of Guizhou Coalbed Methane and Shale Gas Engineering Technology, Guiyang, 550014, China

    Ronglei Li

  4. College of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266590, China

    Junjian Zhang

  5. School of Architectural Construction, Jiangsu Vocational Institute of Architectural Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, China

    Gaoyuan Yan

Authors
  1. Fangkai Quan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Chongtao Wei
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ronglei Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Shuqing Hao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Junjian Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Yu Song
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Gaoyuan Yan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Chongtao Wei or Shuqing Hao.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Quan, F., Wei, C., Li, R. et al. Reservoir Damage in Coalbed Methane Commingled Drainage Wells and Its Fatal Impact on Well Recovery. Nat Resour Res 32, 295–319 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-022-10132-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-022-10132-w

Keywords

Search

Navigation