Title: 2D micromodel study of clogging behavior of fine-grained particles associated with gas hydrate production in NGHP-02 gas hydrate reservoir sediments

Abstract

Fine-grained particles (fines) commonly coexist with coarse-grained sediments that host gas hydrate. These fines can be mobilized by liquid and gas flow during gas hydrate production. Once mobilized, fines can clog pore throats and reduce reservoir permeability. Even where particle sizes are smaller than pore-throat sizes, clogs can form due to clusters of fines. For certain types of fines, particularly swelling clays, cluster sizes depend on pore-fluid chemistry, which changes as pore-fluid freshens during gas hydrate dissociation. Fines can also be concentrated by a moving gas/liquid interface, increasing the chances of pore-throat clogging regardless of fines type. To test the relative significance of these clogging mechanisms, 2D micromodel experiments have been conducted with different pore-throat widths (20, 40, 60 and 100 µm), single-phase pore-fluids (deionized water and 2M-sodium-chloride solution), and moving gas/liquid interfaces on specimens from Sites NGHP-02-09 and NGHP-02-16 (NGHP-02: National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 02) as well as a selection of pure fines (silica silt, mica, calcium carbonate, diatoms, kaolin, and bentonite). Clogging depended on the ratio of particle-to-pore throat size, and also on pore-fluid chemistry because the pore-fluid chemistry changes effectively increased or decreased the fine’s cluster size relative to the pore-throat width. These interactions can bemore » predicted based on the fine’s electrical sensitivity (defined by Jang and Santamarina, 2016). The fine-grained sediment component (grain size < 75 μm) from the primary gas hydrate reservoir layers at Sites NGHP-02-09 and -16 show clogging via blocking or size exclusion (sieving) due to the large particles. Clogs also formed due to bridging or blocking by clusters of the smaller particles. In conclusion, clogging generally occurred for pore-water sediment concentrations so low (0.2% by mass or less), that it was difficult to resolve the enhanced clogging in the presence of the gas/liquid meniscus.« less

Authors:

Cao, Shuang C. ^[1]; Jang, Junbong ^[2]; Jung, Jongwon  ^[3];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Jung, Jongwon"
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0001-9954-4232"

Waite, William F.  ^[4];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Waite, William F."
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-9436-4109"

Collett, Timothy S. ^[5]; Kumar, Pushpendra ^[6]

---

+ Show Author Affiliations

1. Oklahoma State Univ., Stillwater, OK (United States). Chemical Engineering
2. U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, MA (United States). Integrated Statistics Inc.
3. Chungbuk National Univ., Cheongju, Chungbuk (South Korea). School of Civil Engineering
4. U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, MA (United States)
5. U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO (United States)
6. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Panvel, Navi Mumbai, (India)

Publication Date:

Tue Sep 11 00:00:00 EDT 2018

Research Org.:

Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge, LA (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE)

OSTI Identifier:

1469997

Alternate Identifier(s):

OSTI ID: 1636299

Grant/Contract Number:  

FE0028966; FE00-28966

Resource Type:

Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:

Marine and Petroleum Geology

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Volume: 108; Related Information: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9PZ5M7E.; Journal ID: ISSN 0264-8172

Publisher:

Elsevier

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; 09 BIOMASS FUELS; NGHP; gas hydrate; fine-grained sediment; interparticle forces; pore-fluid chemistry; sediment fabric; fines migration; clogging; gas/liquid meniscus; micromodel