{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,12]],"date-time":"2026-10-12T12:23:24Z","timestamp":1791807804999,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,20]],"date-time":"2025-06-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1750377600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Gels"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Coalbed methane (CBM), a significant unconventional natural gas resource, holds a crucial position in China\u2019s ongoing energy structure transformation. However, the inherent low permeability, high brittleness, and strong sensitivity of CBM reservoirs to drilling fluids often lead to severe formation damage during drilling operations, consequently impairing well productivity. To address these challenges, this study developed a novel low-damage, plugging, and anti-collapse water-based drilling fluid gel system (ACWD) specifically designed for coalbed methane drilling. Laboratory investigations demonstrate that the ACWD system exhibits superior overall performance. It exhibits stable rheological properties, with an initial API filtrate loss of 1.0 mL and a high-temperature, high-pressure (HTHP) filtrate loss of 4.4 mL after 16 h of hot rolling at 120 \u00b0C. It also demonstrates excellent static settling stability. The system effectively inhibits the hydration and swelling of clay and coal, significantly reducing the linear expansion of bentonite from 5.42 mm (in deionized water) to 1.05 mm, and achieving high shale rolling recovery rates (both exceeding 80%). Crucially, the ACWD system exhibits exceptional plugging performance, completely sealing simulated 400 \u00b5m fractures with zero filtrate loss at 5 MPa pressure. It also significantly reduces core damage, with an LS-C1 core damage rate of 7.73%, substantially lower than the 19.85% recorded for the control polymer system (LS-C2 core). Field application in the JX-1 well of the Ordos Basin further validated the system\u2019s effectiveness in mitigating fluid loss, preventing wellbore instability, and enhancing drilling efficiency in complex coal formations. This study offers a promising, relatively environmentally friendly, and cost-effective drilling fluid solution for the safe and efficient development of coalbed methane resources.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/gels11070473","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,20]],"date-time":"2025-06-20T03:05:27Z","timestamp":1750388727000},"page":"473","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Research and Performance Evaluation of Low-Damage Plugging and Anti-Collapse Water-Based Drilling Fluid Gel System Suitable for Coalbed Methane Drilling"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Jian","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Zhonglian Coalbed Methane (Shanxi) Co., Ltd., Taiyuan 030000, China"},{"name":"Provincial Technological Innovation Center for Co-Extraction of Three Gases, Taiyuan 030008, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhanglong","family":"Tan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Zhonglian Coalbed Methane (Shanxi) Co., Ltd., Taiyuan 030000, China"},{"name":"Provincial Technological Innovation Center for Co-Extraction of Three Gases, Taiyuan 030008, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qian","family":"Jing","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Engineering Technology Branch, CNOOC Energy Technology & Services Co., Ltd., Tianjin 300452, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wenbo","family":"Mei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Zhonglian Coalbed Methane (Shanxi) Co., Ltd., Taiyuan 030000, China"},{"name":"Provincial Technological Innovation Center for Co-Extraction of Three Gases, Taiyuan 030008, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wenjie","family":"Shen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Provincial Technological Innovation Center for Co-Extraction of Three Gases, Taiyuan 030008, China"},{"name":"Zhonglian Coalbed Methane Co., Ltd., Beijing 100016, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lei","family":"Feng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Provincial Technological Innovation Center for Co-Extraction of Three Gases, Taiyuan 030008, China"},{"name":"Zhonglian Coalbed Methane Co., Ltd., Beijing 100016, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tengfei","family":"Dong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ministry of Education (MOE) Key Laboratory of Petroleum Engineering, College of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing 102249, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhaobing","family":"Hao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Engineering Technology Branch, CNOOC Energy Technology & Services Co., Ltd., Tianjin 300452, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"36","DOI":"10.1016\/j.coal.2012.05.011","article-title":"Coalbed methane: A review","volume":"101","author":"Moore","year":"2012","journal-title":"Int. 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