Characteristics of dissolved inorganic carbon in produced water from coalbed methane wells and its geological significance

Based on long-term dynamic tracing of dissolved inorganic carbon(DIC)and stable carbon isotope(δ13CDIC)in produced water from 20 coalbed methane(CBM)wells in western Guizhou,the spatial-temporal dynamic variations ofδ13CDIC of the GP well group produced in multi-layer commingled manner were analyzed,and the relationship between the value ofδ13CDIC and CBM productivity was examined.The produced water samples of typical wells in the GP well group were amplified and sequenced using 16S rDNA,and a geological response model ofδ13CDIC in produced water from CBM wells with multi-coal seams was put forward.The research shows that:δ13CDIC in produced water from medium-rank coal seams commonly show positive anomalies,the produced water contains more than 15 species of methanogens,and Methanobacterium is the dominant genus.The dominant methanogens sequence numbers in the produced water are positively correlated withδ13CDIC,and the positive anomaly of v is caused by reduction of methanogens,and especially hydrogenotrophic methanogens.Vertical segmentation of sedimentary facies and lithology in stratum with multi-coal seams will result in permeability and water cut segmentation,which will lead to the segmentation ofδ13CDIC and archaea community in produced water,so in the strata with better permeability and high water cut,theδ13CDIC of the produced water is abnormally enriched,and the dominant archaea is mainly Methanobacterium.In the strata with weak permeability and low water cut,theδ13CDIC of the produced water is small,and the microbial action is weak.The shallow layer close to the coal seam outcrop is likely to be affected by meteoric precipitation,so theδ13CDIC of the produced water is smaller.The geological response model ofδ13CDIC in produced water from multi-coal seams CBM wells in the medium-rank coal reveals the geological mechanism and microbial action mechanism of theδ13CDIC difference in the produced water from the multi-coal seams CBM wells.It also provides effective geochemical evidence for the superimposed fluid system controlled by sedimentary facies,and can also be used for the contribution analysis of the produced gas and water by the multi-layer CBM wells.

A dynamic evaluation technique for assessing gas output from coal seams during commingling production within a coalbed methane well: a case study from the Qinshui Basin

Gas drainage is carried out based on output from each coal bed throughout commingling production of coalbed methane(CBM).A reasonable drainage process should therefore initially guarantee main coal bed production and then enhance gas output from other beds.Permanent damage can result if this is not the case,especially with regard to fracture development in the main gas-producing coal bed and can greatly reduce single well output.Current theoretical models and measuring devices are inapplicable to commingled CBM drainage,however,and so large errors in predictive models cannot always be avoided.The most effective currently available method involves directly measuring gas output from each coal bed as well as determining the dominant gas-producing unit.A dynamic evaluation technique for gas output from each coal bed during commingling CBM production is therefore proposed in this study.This technique comprises a downhole measurement system combined with a theoretical calculation model.Gas output parameters(i.e.,gas-phase flow rate,temperature,pressure)are measured in this approach via a downhole measurement system;substituting these parameters into a deduced theoretical calculation model then means that gas output from each seam can be calculated to determine the main gas-producing unit.Trends in gas output from a single well or each seam can therefore be predicted.The laboratory and field test results presented here demonstrate that calculation errors in CBM outputs can be controlled within a margin of 15%and therefore conform with field use requirements.

The status and development strategy of coalbed methane industry in China

To achieve the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality under the backgrounds of poor resource endowments, weak theoretical basis and other factors, the development of the coalbed methane industry of China faces many bottlenecks and challenges. This paper systematically analyzes the coalbed methane resources, key technologies and progress, exploration effect and production performance in China and abroad. The main problems are summarized as low exploration degree, low technical adaptability, low return on investment and small development scale. This study suggests that the coalbed methane industry in China should follow the “two-step”(short-term and long-term) development strategy. The short-term action before 2030, can be divided into two stages:(1) From the present to 2025, to achieve new breakthroughs in theory and technology, and accomplish the target of annual production of 10 billion cubic meters;(2) From 2025 to 2030, to form the technologies suitable for most geological conditions, further expand the industry scale, and achieve an annual output of 30 billion cubic meters, improving the proportion of coalbed methane in the total natural gas production. The long-term action after 2030 is to gradually realize an annual production of 100 billion cubic meters. The strategic countermeasure to achieve the above goals is to adhere to “technology+management dual wheel drive”, realize the synchronous progress of technology and management, and promote the high-quality development of the coalbed methane industry. Technically, the efforts will focus on fine and effective development of coalbed methane in the medium to shallow layers of mature fields, effective development of coalbed methane in new fields, extensive and beneficial development of deep coalbed methane, three-dimensional comingled development of coalbed methane, applying new technologies such as coalbed methane displacement by carbon dioxide, microwave heating and stimulation technology, ultrasonic stimulation, high-temperature heat injection stimulation, rock breaking by high-energy laser. In terms of management, the efforts will focus on coordinative innovation of resource, technology, talent, policy and investment, with technological innovation as the core, to realize an all-round and integrated management and promote the development of coalbed methane industry at a high level.

Integrity and Failure Analysis of Cement Sheath Subjected to Coalbed Methane Fracturing

Perforation and fracturing are typically associated with the development of coalbed methane wells.As the cement sheath is prone to failure during this process,in this work,the effects of the casing pressure,elastic modulus of the cement,elastic modulus of the formation,and casing eccentricity on the resulting stresses are analyzed in the frame of a finite element method.Subsequently,sensitivity response curves of the cement sheath stress are plotted by normalizing all factors.The results show that the maximum circumferential stress and Mises stress of the cement sheath increase with the casing internal pressure,elastic modulus of the cement and casing eccentricity.As the elastic modulus of the formation increases,the maximum circumferential stress of the cement sheath decreases,and its maximum Mises stress increases slightly.The cement sheath undergoes tensile failure during coalbed methane fracturing.The stress sensitivity of the cement sheath to the influential parameters is in the following order:casing internal pressure>elastic modulus of cement sheath>casing eccentricity>elastic modulus of formation.

Fuzzy pattern recognition model of geological sweetspot for coalbed methane development

From the perspective of geological zone selection for coalbed methane(CBM) development, the evaluation parameters(covering geological conditions and production conditions) of geological sweetspot for CBM development are determined, and the evaluation index system of geological sweetspot for CBM development is established. On this basis, the fuzzy pattern recognition(FPR) model of geological sweetspot for CBM development is built. The model is applied to evaluate four units of No.3 Coal Seam in the Fanzhuang Block, southern Qinshui Basin, China. The evaluation results are consistent with the actual development effect and the existing research results, which verifies the rationality and reliability of the FPR model. The research shows that the proposed FPR model of geological sweetspot for CBM development does not involve parameter weighting which leads to uncertainties in the results of the conventional models such as analytic hierarchy process and multi-level fuzzy synthesis judgment, and features a simple computation without the construction of multi-level judgment matrix. The FPR model provides reliable results to support the efficient development of CBM.

Optimum location of surface wells for remote pressure relief coalbed methane drainage in mining areas

Based on engineering tests in the Huainan coal mining area,we studied alternative well location to improve the performance of surface wells for remote pressure relief of coalbed methane in mining areas.The key factors,affecting location and well gas production were analyzed by simulation tests for similar material.The exploitation results indicate that wells located in various positions on panels could achieve relatively better gas production in regions with thin Cenozoic layers,low mining heights and slow rate of longwall advancement,but their periods of gas production lasted less than 230 days,as opposed to wells in regions with thick Cenozoic layers,greater mining heights and fast rates of longwall advancement.Wells near panel margins achieved relatively better gas production and lasted longer than centerline wells.The rules of development of mining fractures in strata over panels control gas production of surface wells.Mining fractures located in areas determined by lines of compaction and the effect of mining are well developed and can be maintained for long periods of time.Placing the well at the end of panels and on the updip return airway side of panels,determined by lines of compaction and the effect of mining,would result in surface wells for remote pressure relief CBM obtaining their longest gas production periods and highest cumulative gas production.

Methods for simultaneously evaluating reserve and permeability of undersaturated coalbed methane reservoirs using production data during the dewatering stage

In this work,a flowing material balance equation(FMBE) is established for under saturated coalbed methane(CBM) reservoirs,which considers immobile free gas expansion effect at the dewatering stage.Based on the established FMBE,five straight-line methods are proposed to determine the control area,initial water reserve,initial free gas reserve,initial adsorbed gas reserve,original gas in place,as well as permeability at the same time.Subsequently,the proposed FMBE methods for undersaturated CBM reservoirs are validated against a reservoir simulation software with and without considering free gas expansion.Finally,the proposed methods are applied in a field case when considering free gas expansion effect.Validation cases show that the straight-line relationships for the proposed five FMBE methods are excellent,and good agreements are obtained among the actual reserves and permeabilities and those evaluated by the proposed five FMBE methods,indicating the proposed five FMBE methods are effective and rational for CBM reservoirs.Results show that a small amount of free gas will result in a great deviation in reserve evaluation;hence,the immobile free gas expansion effect should be considered when establishing the material balance equation of undersaturated CBM reservoirs at the dewatering stage.

Construction of high-pressure adsorption isotherm:A tool for predicting coalbed methane recovery from Jharia coalfield,India

Adsorption isotherm relates the gas storage capacity as a function of pressure at constant temperature.In this paper,adsorption isotherm of two dry borehole samples was constructed in the laboratory using the manometric method.Isotherm was measured for two gases,i.e.,CH4 and CO2 to pressure up to 8.4 MPa.Before the construction of sorption isotherm,coal was characterized by proximate,ultimate and petrographic analysis.Coalbed gas content of these two samples was found 2.29 m3/t and 2.75 m3/t.SEM images were obtained for the pore size distribution of coal using pore image analysis.Prediction of coalbed methane recovery from CH4 adsorption isotherm showed that these coalbeds are under saturated.CO2 isotherm was constructed to estimate enhanced coalbed methane(ECBM)recovery.Volume wise CO2/CH4 sorption ratio was found 2.09 times to 2.75 times respectively.This paper presents the interpretation of isotherm data to find the recovery factor of methane production from Jharia coalfield.

Exploitation technology of pressure relief coalbed methane in vertical surface wells in the Huainan coal mining area

Exploitation technology of pressure relief coalbed methane in vertical surface wells is a new method for exploration of gas and coalbed methane exploitation in mining areas with high concentrations of gas, where tectonic coal developed. Studies on vertical surface well technology in the Huainan Coal Mining area play a role in demonstration in the use of clean, new energy resources, preventing and reducing coal mine gas accidents and protecting the environment. Based on the practice of gas drainage engineering of pressure relief coalbed methane in vertical surface wells and combined with relative geological and exploration en- gineering theories, the design principles of design and structure of wells of pressure relief coalbed methane in vertical surface wells are studied. The effects of extraction and their causes are discussed and the impact of geological conditions on gas production of the vertical surface wells are analyzed. The results indicate that in mining areas with high concentrations of gas, where tectonic coal developed, a success rate of pressure relief coalbed methane in surface vertical well is high and single well production usually great. But deformation due to coal exploitation could damage boreholes and cause breaks in the connection between aquifers and bore-holes, which could induce a decrease, even a complete halt in gas production of a single well. The design of well site location and wellbore configuration are the key for technology. The development of the geological conditions for coalbed methane have a significant effect on gas production of coalbed methane wells.

Prediction of Flowing Bottomhole Pressures for Two-Phase Coalbed Methane Wells

A method is proposed to predict the flowing bottomhole pressures(FBHPs)for two-phase coalbed methane(CBM)wells.The mathematical models for both gas column pressure and two-phase fluid column pressure were developed based on the well liquid flow equation.FBHPs during the production were predicted by considering the effect of entrained liquid on gravitational gradients.Comparison of calculated BHPs by Cullender-Smith and proposed method was also studied.The results show that the proposed algorithm gives the desired accuracy of calculating BHPs in the lowproductivity and low-pressure CBM wells.FBHP is resulted from the combined action of wellhead pressure,gas column pressure and fluid column pressure.Variation of kinetic energy term,compressibility and friction factors with depth increments and liquid holdup with velocity should be considered to simulate the real BHPs adequately.BHP is a function of depth of each column segment.The small errors of less than 1.5%between the calculated and measured values are obtained with each segment within 25 m.Adjusting BHPs can effectively increase production pressure drop,which is beneficial to CBM desorption and enhances reservoir productivity.The increment of pressure drop from 5.37 MPa2 to 8.66 MPa2 leads to an increase of CBM production from 3270 m3/d to 6700 m3/d and is attributed to a decrease in BHP from 2.25 MPa to 1.33 MPa.

Direct Synthesis of Oxygenates from Water and Methane via Dielectric-barrier Discharge

In this investigation, a clean, atomic economic and direct synthesis of oxygenates (methanol, ethanol) form water and methane via dielectric-barrier discharge was developed at room temperature and under atmospheric pressure. The effect of discharge voltage on this process was studied. The results showed that the conversion of water can be as high as 7%, the selectivity of methanol and ethanol can be as high as 100%.

Exploring Win-Wins from Trade-Offs? Co-Benefits of Coalbed Methane Utilization for the Environment, Economy and Safety

With policy incentives for the coalbed methane in energy industry,coalbed methane from coal production has been effectively improved by technology innovations in coalbed methane extraction and utilization.The progress of coalbed methane promotes the clean construction of energy system and contributes to carbon neutrality target.To quantitatively measure the contributions of the coalbed methane in energy industry,this paper builds a carbon emissions accounting system for coalbed methane in China and assesses the historical co-benefits of coalbed methane utilization from the aspects of emissions reduction,safety and economy.By using the parameters of gas content,raw coal production,gas extraction rate and utilization rate over the years,emissions reduction potential and economic viability of coal seam gas are estimated and the safety benefits of coal mine gas extraction are analyzed by using data for gas accidents and economic losses.The results reveal that with the increase in raw coal production,the great emission reduction potential of coalbed methane is expected to benefit clean energy system and the development of carbon neutrality by means of policy incentives and technology innovations.The co-benefit evaluation indicates the huge profitability of coalbed methane from 2012 to 2015 and the significance of emissions reduction and safety gain internalization.Safety benefits are obvious in the negative exponential function between the annual drainage quantities of coalbed methane and annual death tolls from coal mine gas accidents.Based on these results,relevant suggestions are put forward for sustainable development of the coalbed methane in energy industry.

Methane Formation by the Reaction of Coalbed Carbon with Water

There is proposed a mechanism of methane and carbon dioxide formation by the direct reaction of carbon with water during catastrophic events in the mining of coal deposits. Thermodynamics of the reaction is dis-cussed.

Geochemical Characteristics and Development Significances of Constant and Trace Elements from Coalbed Methane Co-Produced Water:A Case Study of the Shizhuangnan Block,the Southern Qinshui Basin

As an unconventional natural gas resource,coalbed methane(CBM)development releases a large amount of CBM wells co-produced water.Geochemical characteristics of the co-produced water provide an essential foundation for the production dynamics of CBM reservoirs if the impacts of fracturing fluids and other aquifers can be ignored.In the Shizhuangnan Block of the southern Qinshui Basin,constant and trace elements in CBM co-produced water from the wellheads were collected and determined,which is applied to assess water source,fracturing fluid effect,and CBM production.Based on principle component analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis,the water samples are divided into four categories.It suggests that different characteristics affected by water-rock interaction,reservoir environment,aquifer recharge,and hydraulic fracturing result in the various ratios of Na^(+)/Cl^(-),alkalinity(HCO_(3)^(-)+CO_(3)^(2-))/Cl^(-)and other specific rules.Moreover,Cl^(-)is selected as a dividing line for complete fracturing fluid flow back,associated with organic-bound chlorine complexes in the original coal seam water.Compared to constant elements,there is a significant correlation between Li and Sr concentrations and CBM productivity,so templates regarding trace elements can be used to distinguish various sources of the co-produced water.

Experimental investigation of propagation mechanisms and fracture morphology for coalbed methane reservoirs

Fracture propagation mechanisms in coalbed methane(CBM) reservoirs are very complex due to the development of the internal cleat system. In this paper, the characteristics of initiation and propagation of hydraulic fractures in coal specimens at different angles between the face cleat and the maximum horizontal principal stress were investigated with hydraulic fracturing tests. The results indicate that the interactions between the hydraulic fractures and the cleat system have a major effect on fracture networks. "Step-like'' fractures were formed in most experiments due to the existence of discontinuous butt cleats. The hydraulic fractures were more likely to divert or propagate along the butt cleat with an increase in the angles and a decrease in the horizontal principal stress difference. An increase in the injection rate and a decrease in the fracturing fluid viscosity were more conducive to fracture networks. In addition, the influence on fracture propagation of the residual coal fines in the wellbore was also studied. The existence of coal fines was an obstacle in fracturing, and no effective connection can be formed between fractures. The experimental investigation revealed the fracture propagation mechanisms and can provide guidance for hydraulic fracturing design of CBM reservoirs.

Improving methane storage on wet activated carbons at various amounts of water

Different mesoporous activated carbons were prepared by both chemical and physical activation processes and were examined for methane uptake in the presence of water.Methane isotherms were obtained at wet condition by wetting samples with water at mass ratio of water/carbon(R) close to 1.0.To compare,the amount of methane storage were also measured at dry situation.The maximum amount of methane stored was attained as 237 V/V at R=1.0 by hydrate formation at the methane critical pressure.In the next step,mass ratios of water/carbon were changed to investigate various amount of water for methane storage enhancement.Two other values of mass ratio of water/carbon(R=0.8 and 1.4) were selected and methane isotherms were obtained at the same conditions.Maximum values of 210 and 248 V/V were reached for methane storage,respectively.It was also observed that,in the pressure range lower than hydrate pressure,by increasing water ratio the hydrate formation pressure was decreased and methane uptake was much less than that of dry condition due to pore filling by water.

Microbial Geochemical Characteristics of the Coalbed Methane in the Shizhuangnan Block of Qinshui Basin, North China and their Geological Implications

Methanogens and sulfate reducing bacteria were detected by the 16SrRNA sequencing of coalbed methane(CBM)co-produced water in the south of the Qinshui Basin,which is indicative of the presence of secondary biological gas in the south of this basin,in contradiction to the previous understanding of thermogenic gas.This work systematically collected water samples from the CBM wells in the Shizhuangnan Block and analyzed the microbial geochemical characteristics from the aspects of water ions,hydrogen and oxygen isotopes,dissolved inorganic carbon and microbial diversity.It is shown that the Shizhuangnan Block has a nearly SN-trending monoclinic structure,and the elevation of coal seam decreases gradually from the east to west.Because of the water blocking effect of Sitou fault in the west,the precipitation flowed from the east to west,and gradually transited to stagnant flow area.The concentration variation of some ions such as Na^+,K^+,Ca2^+,Mg2^+,Cl^-,HCO3^-and total dissolved solids(TDS)suggest the variation of redox condition in the coal reservoir water.The 16SrDNA sequencing analysis of the collected water samples detected the presence of methanogens and sulfate reduction bacteria.The presence of methane production zone and sulfate methane transition zone(SMTZ)was identified.The effect of methanogens in the methane production zone leads to an increase in the methane concentration,resulting in a high gas content in the study area.In the SMTZ,most methane is consumed by anaerobic oxidation due to high sulfate concentrations.