The effect of lamination on elastic anisotropy of primary coals under confining pressure: Experiment and theoretical modelling

Abstract The deep coalbed methane development is in its initial stage, with limited research on elastic anisotropy of coals in deep coalbed methane reservoirs. To study the elastic anisotropy of coals in deep coalbed methane reservoirs, three sets of cylindrical primary coals are collected from the relatively shallow area of the Taiyuan 8 # coal formation, a key site for deep coalbed methane extraction. The microscopic observation, basic physical property test, ultrasonic velocity measurement and theoretical modelling are constructed to study the pressure sensitivity of elastic properties and the factors affecting the elastic anisotropy of coal samples. The velocity increases rapidly with confining pressure increasing at confining pressures below 13 MPa but relatively stabilizes at higher pressures. The velocity perpendicular to the bedding plane is more sensitive to pressure than that parallel to the bedding plane. As confining pressure increases, the velocity anisotropy decreases but remains noticeable at the highest pressure. Based on the microstructure and ultrasonic experiment results, an anisotropic rock physics model for the deep coalbed methane reservoir is constructed to quantitatively analyse the effects of the clay and organic matter and pore structure on the elastic anisotropy of coals. The modelling analysis indicates that P‐ and S‐wave velocity anisotropies decrease as the degree of preferred orientation of organic matter and clay decreases, which increases with the increase of organic matter and clay content. The equivalent pore aspect ratio and lamination index of studied coals are obtained from a practical inversion scheme based on the proposed model. The results can support the anisotropic rock physics inversion of deep coalbed methane reservoirs and the accurate prediction of engineering sweet spot parameters.