Application of Seismic Anisotropy Caused by Fissures in Coal Seams to the Detection of Coal-bed Methane Reservoirs

Coal-bed methane is accumulated in micro-fissures and cracks in coal seams. The coal seam is the source terrace and reservoir bed of the coal-bed methane (Qian et al., 1996). Anisotropy of coal seams is caused by the existence of fissures. Based on the theory of S wave splitting: an S wave will be divided into two S waves with nearly orthogonal polarization directions when passing through anisotropic media, i.e. the fast S wave with its direction of propagation parallel to that of the fissure and slow S wave with the direction of propagation perpendicular to that of the fissure.

Impact Factors on Fracturing Results of Coal Seams and Appropriate Countermeasures

Hydraulic fracturing is one of the efficient means for the abundant low-permeability CBM （coal-bed methane） reserves in China, however, due to the unique features of coal seams （i.e., low temperature, strong adsorption and abnormal development of natural fracture systems） as compared with the conventional reservoirs, the fractures propagate is difficult and the risk of damage to coal seam itself and the hydraulic fractures would be extremely high in the course of fracturing. As a result, losses would be suffered on the post-frac production of CBM wells.With the mean of numerical simulation, in this paper, the main factors have impact on the post-frac results as well as the extent to which the impact is brought were researched, and the technical solutions for the improvement of the fracturing performance was put forwards.

Characteristics and evolution of faults in the north-central Yin’e Basin and the effects on the coal-seam in the Cretaceous strata

Research on the characteristics of faults and their evolutionary history since the Cretaceous in the Suhongtu-Dagu depressions can provide a theoretical basis for geological evaluation of the coal seams in the Suhongtu Formation in the northern-central region of the Yin’e Basin.Using 3-D seismic-logging inversion techniques,seismic stratigraphic calibration,stratigraphic sequence delineation,and thickness calculations on the Suhongtu-Dagu depressions were carried out to clarify the planar and profile distributions of the faults,as well as the evolutionary history of these faults and the tectonic history of the depressions.The results of this study revealed that the distribution of the faults in the Suhongtu-Dagu depressions in the northern part of the Yin’e Basin varies with region,and the fault system was multi-period,orthotropic,north-east-trending,and north-north-east-trending,with a certain degree of inheritance in terms of the geological setting.Three types of faults were identified:Y-shaped fractures,reverse Y-shaped fractures,and parallel fractures,which can be classified as Paleozoic-Cenozoic continuous syncline faults and intra-depression faults from the top of the Permian to the Upper Cretaceous series and inter-stratigraphic adjustment faults within the Cretaceous System,respectively.The evolution of these faults can be divided into three phases:the controlling faults were the faults that existed before the Early Cretaceous and had been active since then;synclinal faults that formed during the Early Cretaceous;and modified faults that formed since the Early Cretaceous.The development and modification of the coal seams in the Cretaceous Suhongtu Formation in the Hari,Kuanzihu,and Babei sags were strongly controlled and influenced by a multi-phase complex fault system.