Investigation of the effectiveness of methane drainage in a multi-seam coal mine with the use of long-reach directional drilling – a case study from USCB, Poland

This research was funded by the European Union, Research Fund for Coal and Steel under the project DD-MET “Advanced methane drainage strategy-technology employing underground directional drilling technology for major risk prevention and greenhouse gases emission mitigation” (Grant Agreement No. 847338-DD-MET-RFCS-2018) and by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (Contract No. 5038/FBWiS/2019/2 and 5073/FBWiS/19/2020/2).

Multi-seam coal mines in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin in Poland faces significant methane hazards, posing threats to operational safety and human well-being. Mitigating these hazards incurs substantial costs, primarily due to methane drainage efforts. However, recent advancements in technology, such as long-reach directional drilling boreholes, offer promise in efficiently extracting methane while enhancing safety. In this study results of numerical modeling combining geomechanics and fluid flow simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach, significantly reducing methane content in both ventilation systems and coal seams.