Geomechanical Estimation of the Influence of Horizontal Coalbed Methane Well Design on Coal Seam Permeability

The paper presents a method of choosing the design of horizontal coalbed methane well by estimation of a coal seam permeability on the results of one-dimensional and two-dimensional geomechanical modeling. The differences in the preparation of one-dimensional geomechanical models of coalbed methane fields from models for conventional oil and gas fields are noted. The results of preparation of one-dimensional geomechanical model based on data from one of the vertical exploration coalded methane wells and two-dimensional geomechanical modeling of coal seam for three common designs are presented. The obtained results allow us to conclude that geomechanical modeling is a suitable tool for estimation of coal seam permeability changes and choosing the most effective well design for the considered mining and geological conditions. In particular, in the coal seam under study, a multilateral well can cause the greatest increasing of permeability.