Gas production potential of disperse low-saturation hydrateaccumulations in oceanic sediments
In this paper we evaluate the gas production potential ofdisperse, low-saturation (SH<0.1) hydrate accumulations in oceanicsediments. Such hydrate-bearing sediments constitute a significantportion of the global hydrate inventory. Using numerical simulation, weestimate (a) the rates of gas production and gas release from hydratedissociation, (b) the corresponding cumulative volumes of released andproduced gas, as well as (c) the water production rate and the mass ofproduced water from disperse, low-SH hydrate-bearing sediments subject todepressurization-induced dissociation over a 10-year production period.We investigate the sensitivity of items (a) to (c) to the followinghydraulic properties, reservoir conditions, and operational parameters:intrinsic permeability, porosity, pressure, temperature, hydratesaturation, and constant pressure at which the production well is kept.The results of this study indicate that, despite wide variations in theaforementioned parameters (covering the entire spectrum of suchdeposits), gas production is very limited, never exceeding a few thousandcubic meters of gas during the 10-year production period. Such lowproduction volumes are orders of magnitude below commonly acceptedstandards of economic viability, and are further burdened with veryunfavorable gas-to-water ratios. The unequivocal conclusion from thisstudy is that disperse, low-SH hydrate accumulations in oceanic sedimentsare not promising targets for gas production by means ofdepressurization-induced dissociation, and resources for early hydrateexploitation should be focused elsewhere.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE. Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy.Gas
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC02-05CH11231
- OSTI ID:
- 919252
- Report Number(s):
- LBNL-61446; ECMADL; R&D Project: G30801; BnR: AB0565000; TRN: US200822%%192
- Journal Information:
- Energy Conversion and Management, Vol. 48, Issue 6; Related Information: Journal Publication Date: 06/2007; ISSN 0196-8904
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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