Method for production of hydrocarbons from hydrates

Patent · 01 January 1984

OSTI ID:864830

McGuire, Patrick L ^[1]

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1. Los Alamos, NM

A method of recovering natural gas entrapped in frozen subsurface gas hydrate formations in arctic regions. A hot supersaturated solution of CaCl.sub.2 or CaBr.sub.2, or a mixture thereof, is pumped under pressure down a wellbore and into a subsurface hydrate formation so as to hydrostatically fracture the formation. The CaCl.sub.2 /CaBr.sub.2 solution dissolves the solid hydrates and thereby releases the gas entrapped therein. Additionally, the solution contains a polymeric viscosifier, which operates to maintain in suspension finely divided crystalline CaCl.sub.2 /CaBr.sub.2 that precipitates from the supersaturated solution as it is cooled during injection into the formation.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• Assignee: United States of America as represented by United States (Washington, DC)
• Patent Number(s): US 4424866
• OSTI ID: 864830
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

/166/
additionally
arctic
cabr
cacl
contains
cooled
crystalline
dissolves
divided
entrapped
finely
finely divided
formation
formations
fracture
frozen
gas
gas entrapped
gas hydrate
hot
hydrate
hydrate formation
hydrates
hydrocarbons
hydrostatically
injection
maintain
method
mixture
natural
natural gas
operates
polymeric
precipitates
pressure
production
pumped
recovering
regions
releases
saturated solution
solid
solid hydrates
solution
solution contains
subsurface
supersaturated
suspension
therein
viscosifier
wellbore