A parametric study of horizontal and multilateral wells in coalbed-methane reservoirs

The full-length paper attempts to identify the most appropriate drilling patterns for coalbed-methane (CBM) reservoirs of different thickness and with different characteristics. The comparison yardstick for this study is net present value (NPV). In this way, drilling cost is accounted for when comparing different horizontal and multilateral configurations. Dual-lateral, trilateral, quadlateral, and fishbone configurations were compared. Total horizontal well length as well as spacing between laterals (SBL) was studied.