Permeability Determination for Potential Interaction Between Shale Gas Wells and the Coal Mine Environment Due to Longwall-Induced Deformations

Details

• Personal Author:
  Addis J ; Gangrade V ; Hollerich C ; Schatzel S ; Watkins E
• Description:
  This paper summarizes the changes in permeability at three boreholes located above an abutment pillar in a longwall coal mine in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The motivation of this study was to characterize the potential interaction between shale gas wells and the mine environment, through measurement of permeability changes for a comprehensive hazard assessment in the event of a well breach. Measuring permeability changes around boreholes subjected to longwall-induced deformations is one of the most effective ways to estimate fracture network characteristics and their capacity for gas flow from the borehole to the mine environment. In this study, permeability was measured through falling-head slug tests at different face distances to borehole locations during the mining of two longwall panels on either side of the pillar where the three test boreholes were located. The boreholes drilled to different depths above the active mining level had screened intervals to evaluate the response of different stratigraphic zones to mining-induced stresses. The results showed that the permeability around the slotted intervals of each borehole increased from their pre-mining values to their post-mining values and the permeability also increased from mining of the first longwall panel to mining of the second one, adjacent to the pillar. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Environment Environmental Exposure Environmental Monitoring Environmental Pollution Geology Hazardous Substances Occupational Health Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Boreholes Environmental Factors Environmental Hazards Environmental Monitoring Failure Analysis Fracture Zones Gas Flow Geologic Characterization Hazard Identification Longwall Mining Natural Gas Pillar Mechanics Room And Pillar Mining Structural Failure Work Environment

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• Series:
  Mining Publications
• Publisher:
  Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Arizona ; Colorado ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 8 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PMRD - Pittsburgh Mining Research Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20059697
• Citation:
  MineXchange: 2020 SME Annual Conference & Expo, February 23-26, 2020, Phoenix, Arizona, preprint 20-108. Englewood, CO: Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, 2020 Feb; :1-6
• Contact Point Address:
  E. Watkins, NIOSH Pittsburgh Mining Research Division, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, USA
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• NORA Priority Area:
  Mining ; Oil and Gas Extraction
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  MineXchange: 2020 SME Annual Conference & Expo, February 23-26, 2020, Phoenix, Arizona, preprint 20-108
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1fc89d7a928e4b8eb9b65dea0899f9b81f4ea2ca1e66bc55d49959faa972886adb6c2c85628f85ee5433eb02783e711bd9118759dab81a80e32740692796b01a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/215270/cdc_215270_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 606.58 KB ]