Multi seam coal bed/methane dewatering and depressurizing production system

In an underbalanced drilling process for drilling into coal and shale formations, where there is provided a cased primary borehole housing a carrier string, where a drill string has provided a lateral borehole or boreholes from the cased borehole into the coal/shale formation, a process for eliminating permeability damage to the coal or shale during the underbalanced drilling process, comprising the following steps:

• a. drilling the primary borehole through the coal/shale formation to a depth below the formation to define a sump portion of the borehole;
• b. collecting water from the coal/shale formation during the dewatering and depressurizing process;
• c. lowering an artificial lift system down into the sump portion at the end of a tubing string;
• d. pumping water collected in the sump portion to the surface through a bore in the tubing string;
• e. collecting the methane gas from the coal/shale formation into the annulus between the casing and the carrier string;
• and
• f. flowing the collected methane gas into the carrier string through perforations in the wall of the carrier string to the surface.

A process for underbalanced drilling into coal and shale formations to produce methane and shale gas, and dewatering the drilled formation, comprising the following steps:

• a. drilling a first borehole through a coal/shale formation to a depth below the coal/shale formation to define a sump portion of the borehole;
• b. lowering a carrier string down the first borehole to the level of the coal/shale formation;
• c. lowering a drill string into the carrier string to drill a lateral borehole off of the first borehole into the coal/shale formation;
• d. introducing nitrogen/air/water down the annulus between the first borehole and the carrier string;
• e. pumping nitrogen/air/drilling fluid down the drill string annulus;
• f. returning nitrogen/air/drilling fluid/methane gas from the lateral borehole into the annulus between the drill string and carrier string, to surface;
• g. collecting water in the sump portion from the coal/shale formation during the underbalanced drilling process;
• h. lowering a fluid pumping system down into the sump portion at the end of a tubing string;
• I. pumping water collected in the sump portion to the surface through a bore in the tubing string;
• and
• j. collecting the methane gas from the coal/shale formation into the annulus between the casing and the carrier string.