skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Production performance analysis of horizontal drainage wells for the degasification of coal seams

Conference ·
OSTI ID:6973366

The production performances of horizontal drainage wells for the degasification of coal seams have been investigated with the aid of a multidimensional, two-phase coal seam degasification model. The model is written in rectangular coordinates and can handle a number of horizontal wells and operates in a one-, two-, or three-dimensional mode. The model accommodates multiple horizontal boreholes originating from a common vertical shaft or horizontal boreholes being drilled from the peripheries of the reservoir. In consideration of relatively thin but large lateral extent of coal seams, flow dynamics around a horizontal borehole is described in elliptical flow geometry. The non-linear system of equations generated by the finite difference approximation are solved fully implicitly using Newton's iteration. In the mathematical formulation of the problem, coal seam was treated as a dual-porosity system. Transport of methane in the micropore structure of the coal was described by Fick's Law of diffusion while flow in the more permeable natural fracture network of the coal seam was formulated by Darcy's Law. A quasi-steady state kinetic model was included to represent the desorption of methane from coal grains.

Research Organization:
Pennsylvania State Univ.
OSTI ID:
6973366
Report Number(s):
CONF-861080-
Resource Relation:
Conference: Society of Petroleum Engineers annual technical conference and exhibition, New Orleans, LA, USA, 5 Oct 1986
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English