China's coalbed methane development: A review of the challenges and opportunities in subsurface and surface engineering

Each of these challenges provides an opportunity for improvement. We propose a refocus on low-rank coals which have higher permeability. Other opportunities include development of better hydraulic fracturing fluids, non-formation damaging drilling fluids, use of geomechanics to understand borehole instability, optimization of the artificial lift methods and more robust and environmentally friendly produced water treatment methods.