Evaluating the Stability of Shale Gas Wells in Longwall Barrier Pillars

摘要

Unconventional shale gas development in longwall mining regions has given rise to safety concerns in longwall mines. With the recent shale gas boom, approximately 1,500 shale gas wells have been drilled through current and future coal reserves in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio over the past 15 years. Longwall mining removes coal from underground in large blocks and causes the surface and subsurface to move as overburden strata above longwall panels settle to fill the mined void.