Coalbed Methane Reservoir Simulation: An Evolving Science

Abstract

Abstract It wasn't always this complicated! In 1990, Seidle and Arri1 demonstrated how to easily adapt a conventional black oil simulation model for use in coalbed methane simulation. These days, when setting up a coalbed methane simulation model, one needs to worry about a single or multi-component gas description; depletion or enhanced coal bed methane recovery; single, dual or triple porosity; vertical, horizontal, or multi-lateral wells; coals only or a mix of coals and sands; and coalbed methane or coal mine methane? Correctly determining what to model is almost as daunting a task as the simulation work itself. All of these variations add complexity to the task and, in some cases, require specialized simulation models to adequately characterize the problem. This paper discusses how the exploitation and development of coalbed resources throughout the world is changing, and with it how our approach to reservoir simulation of the process is changing as well. The paper will provide a valuable resource to engineers and geoscientists faced with developing predictive tools to assist them in evaluating the optimum strategy to exploit these valuable resources.