Drilling muds for coal deposits

Abstract

The instability of coal beds, both in the overburden and in the production zone during drilling, in particular with directional borehole, is well known. One of the main coal attributes is presence of cracks and micro-fractures in it. This linked network of cracks is considered as the main source of many problems related to coal instability. Stresses occurring in such formations exceed the coal compressive strength. During drilling, coal becomes unstable, which can result in borehole wall collapsing, stuck pipe, or even complete loss of the borehole. Using improper drilling muds can cause additional problems. In coal, a poorly selected drilling mud can damage the natural permeability of the near-well zone. Drilling muds penetrating the pores and cracks in the coal can lead to permanent destruction of the near-well zone, partially or completely limiting the supply of methane to the borehole. Muds used for drilling in coal deposits should therefore both stabilize the borehole wall and affect minor damage to the drilled formation. The experience acquired while drilling low-permeability shale rocks generally does not correlate with the practices and guidelines used to drill holes in coal deposits due to the unique physical and mechanical characteristics of coal. One of the ways to improve the stability of coal deposits when using water-based drilling muds is to prevent the penetration of mud filtrate into the rock matrix, which can be achieved by chemical modification of the drilling mud composition or physical sealing of pores and fractures with special materials. The article presents research on the development of a new drilling mud system dedicated to coalbed methane (CBM) drilling.