Controlling Bottom Hole Flowing Pressure Within a Specific Range for Efficient Coalbed Methane Drainage

The stress state of coal surrounding a coalbed methane (CBM) production well is affected by the bottom hole flowing pressure (BHFP). The permeability of coal shows a marked change under compression. The BHFP must be restricted to a specific range to favor higher permeability in the surrounding coal and thus higher productivity of the well. A new method to determine this specific range is proposed in this paper. Coal has a rather low tensile strength, which induces tensile failure and rock disintegration. The deformation of coal samples under compression has four main stages: compaction, elastic deformation, strain hardening, and strain softening. Permeability is optimal when the coal samples are in the strain softening stage. The three critical values of BHFP, namely, p (wmin), p (wmid), and p (wupper), which correspond to the occurrence of tensile failure, the start of strain softening, and the beginning of plastic deformation, respectively, are derived from theoretical principles. The permeability of coal is in an optimal state when the BHFP is between p (wmin) and p (wmid). The BHFP should be confined to this specific range for the efficient drainage of CBM wells. This method was applied to field operations in three wells in the Hancheng CBM field in China. A comprehensive analysis of drainage data and of the BHFP indicates that the new method is effective and offers significant improvement to current practices.