A well system comprising at least one gas well extending from a ground surface into the ground, a water production well extending from a surface into the ground and a water drainage well fluidly connecting the at least one gas well to the water production well.

A set of manifold string members usable to selectively control separate flowing fluid streams of varying velocities for operations of well construction, injection or production of fluid mixtures of liquids, gases and/or solids, that can be injected into, or taken from, one or more proximal regions of a subterranean passageway, underground cavern, hydrocarbon or geothermal reservoir. Fluid communicated through a manifold string radial passageway of a manifold crossover, between conduit strings and at least one other conduit, can be controlled with at least one flow controlling member, communicating with a passageway member from an innermost, concentric, and/or annular passageway. Fluid communication can be selectively controlled for various configurations of one or more substantially hydrocarbon and/or substantially water wells, below a single main bore and wellhead.

Methods of extracting methane from coal beds using a plasma energy source configured to generate acoustic, electrical, mechanical and hydrodynamic compressive and rarefactive stresses by the action of periodic short pulses, produced by an explosion of a calibrated conductor of a source of oscillations placed in the working interval of a well.

A process for revitalization of the coal deposit for enhanced microbial gas production by exposing coal deposit to air oxidation. Water is removed from coal beds and stored. The coal is exposed to hydrogen peroxide for providing oxygen-rich organic molecules that are more readily biodegraded. Oxidation and drying out of coal produces additional cracks within the coal matrix to allow microbes greater access to the overall coal matrix. The coal is reinjected with emulsified oil and inorganic nutrients by transporting produced water from the storage sites to the reinjection wells. Produced water is mixed with oil and inorganic nutrients in a holding tank. The reinjection water containing nutrients and oil is then injected into the coal under pressure. The mixture presence of the oil speeds up cell division of bacteria and methanogens in the coal and create microbial biomass sufficient to accelerate biomethanogenesis of the coal.

Methods and systems for enhanced recovery of coal bed methane. A method includes generating a diluent gas mixture comprising N.sub.2 and CO.sub.2 in a semi-closed Brayton cycle power plant, injecting at least a portion of the diluent gas mixture into a coal bed, and recovering a mixed production gas comprising methane from the coal bed.

Methods and systems for gasifying coal are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, a representative coal gasification system can comprise (i) an injection well extending from a ground surface to an underground coal gasification (UCG) reaction region of a coal seam; (ii) a production well spaced apart from the injection well and extending from the ground surface to the UCG reaction region, and (iii) conduits each extending from the ground surface to areas of the coal seam. End portions of the conduits within the coal can be laterally peripheral to the UCG reaction region. The conduits are configured to deliver a primary fluid from the ground surface to the primary region, the injection well is configured to deliver an oxidant gas to the UCG reaction region, and the production well is configured to deliver the product gas from the UCG reaction region to the ground surface.

A method of drilling multiple boreholes within a single caisson, for recovery of methane gas from a coal bed, including the steps of drilling first and second vertical boreholes from a single location within a single caisson; drilling at least one or more horizontal wells from the several vertical bore hole, the horizontal wells drilled substantially parallel to a face cleat in the coal bed; drilling at least one or more lateral wells from the one or more horizontal wells, the lateral wells drilled substantially perpendicular to one or more face cleats in the coal bed; continuously circulating water through the drilled vertical, horizontal and lateral wells to recover the water and entrained methane gas from the coal bed; applying friction or choke manifold to the water circulating down the well bores so that the water appears to have a hydrostatic pressure within the well sufficient to maintain an equilibrium with the hydrostatic pressure in the coal bed formation; and drilling at least a third vertical borehole within the single caisson, with one or more horizontal boreholes and one or more lateral boreholes for returning water obtained from the lateral wells into a water zone beneath the surface.

A full-length screen pipe hole protection device and method with pressurized hole packing in a soft coal seam relates to the field of gas drainage technologies. The device includes a grouting system, a drainage system and a hole fixing system. The grouting system injects a pressurized sealing material into a borehole through a pressure pump to increase a sealing effect of the borehole. The drainage system drains gas in the middle of air holes on metal baffle plates and hole fixing screen pipes through a drainage pipe to increase flowability of gas. The hole fixing system is inside the borehole and fixed with the metal baffle plates, and the hole fixing screen pipes are fixedly connected with each other through fitting mouths and fitting buckles. The device is fixedly mounted in the gas drainage borehole. After hole packing, the drainage pipe is connected with a drainage pump to drain gas.

A method of drilling multiple boreholes within a single caisson, for recovery of methane gas from a coal bed, including the steps of drilling first and second vertical boreholes from a single location within a single caisson; drilling at least one or more horizontal wells from the several vertical bore hole, the horizontal wells drilled substantially parallel to a face cleat in the coal bed; drilling at least one or more lateral wells from the one or more horizontal wells, the lateral wells drilled substantially perpendicular to one or more face cleats in the coal bed; continuously circulating water through the drilled vertical, horizontal and lateral wells to recover the water and entrained methane gas from the coal bed; applying friction or choke manifold to the water circulating down the well bores so that the water appears to have a hydrostatic pressure within the well sufficient to maintain an equilibrium with the hydrostatic pressure in the coal bed formation; and drilling at least a third vertical borehole within the single caisson, with one or more horizontal boreholes and one or more lateral boreholes for returning water obtained from the lateral wells into a water zone beneath the surface.

A method for operating a kerogen-rich unconventional gas reservoir characterized by there being multiple hydraulically-fractured wells drilled thereinto comprises: recovering a methane-containing gas from a first hydraulically-fractured well drilled into the gas reservoir, steam-methane reforming the recovered methane-containing gas to yield a hydrogen gas and an inorganic carbon-containing gas, injecting at least a portion of the hydrogen gas into a second hydraulically-fractured well drilled into the gas reservoir, and injecting at least a portion of the inorganic carbon-containing gas into a third hydraulically-fractured well drilled into the gas reservoir.