A Mechanistic Model for Relative Permeability of Gas and Water Flow in Hydrate-Bearing Porous Media With Capillarity

Singh, Harpreet; Mahabadi, Nariman; Myshakin, Evgeniy M.; Seol, Yongkoo

doi:10.1029/2018WR024278

Title: A Mechanistic Model for Relative Permeability of Gas and Water Flow in Hydrate-Bearing Porous Media With Capillarity

Journal Article · Tue Apr 09 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Water Resources Research

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2018WR024278· OSTI ID:1569749

^[1];

^[2]; Myshakin, Evgeniy M. ^[3];

^[1]

National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Morgantown, WV (United States)
Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (United States)
National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Morgantown, WV (United States); LRST, Pittsburgh, PA (United States)

Abstract Lack of mechanistic models to describe petrophysical properties of mobile phases in gas hydrate‐bearing sediments is one of the key challenges in accurately predicting gas production. The major drawback of empirical models that are used to fit a relative permeability curve for mobile phases in gas hydrate‐bearing sediments is that they are based on experimental data, which are limited, and not able to account for hydrate morphology in pore space. This study proposes a relative permeability model that is mechanistic in nature and developed to account capillarity by building on the original nonempirical relative permeability model that assumes negligible capillary pressure. The proposed model implicitly accounts for capillarity with the help of four empirical parameters (two for each mobile phase) that incorporate each mobile phase pressure. It is shown that the proposed model provides an improved match to relative permeability data (derived from pore‐scale simulation of gas hydrate‐bearing sediments) than nonempirical relative permeability by accounting for the effect of capillary pressure. Additionally, unlike fully empirical models that can predict relative permeabilities reliably only at gas hydrate saturations for which experimental data are available, the proposed model only requires fitting the empirical parameters once with experimental data at any single gas hydrate saturation and then it can then be used to predict relative permeability at any gas hydrate saturation. The mechanistic nature of the proposed model allows studying relative permeability of hydrate‐bearing sediments as a function of hydrate morphology and wettability (fluid phase distribution) besides other physical parameters of the model (e.g., porosity, gas, and water residual saturation). Based on the sensitivity analysis of different hydrate morphologies on gas/water relative permeability, it is found that gas relative permeability is sensitive to hydrate morphologies, while water relative permeability shows little dependency on hydrate localization in pore space.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Cite

Export

Save

Research Organization:: National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, Morgantown, WV, and Albany, OR (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: 89243318CFE000003

OSTI ID:: 1569749

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1509753

Report Number(s):: NETL-PUB-22142

Journal Information:: Water Resources Research, Vol. 55, Issue 4; ISSN 0043-1397

Publisher:: American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Citation Metrics:

Cited by: 18 works

Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (54)

The Electrical Resistivity Log as an Aid in Determining Some Reservoir Characteristics Archie, G. E. Transactions of the AIME, Vol. 146, Issue 01 https://doi.org/10.2118/942054-G	journal	December 1942
Relation between relative permeability and hydrate saturation in Shenhu area, South China Sea Li, Chuan-Hui; Zhao, Qian; Xu, Hong-Jun Applied Geophysics, Vol. 11, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11770-014-0432-6	journal	June 2014
Methane hydrates as potential energy resource: Part 2 – Methane production processes from gas hydrates Demirbas, Ayhan Energy Conversion and Management, Vol. 51, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2010.02.014	journal	July 2010
The water retention curve and relative permeability for gas production from hydrate-bearing sediments: pore-network model simulation: WATER RETENTION AND PERMEABILITY Mahabadi, Nariman; Dai, Sheng; Seol, Yongkoo Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Vol. 17, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GC006372	journal	August 2016
Pore-scale identification of multi-phase spatial distribution of hydrate bearing sediment He, Gaofeng; Luo, Xianqi; Zhang, Haitao Journal of Geophysics and Engineering, Vol. 15, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-2140/aaba10	journal	July 2018
Effect of methane hydrate morphology on compressional wave velocity of sandy sediments: Analysis of pressure cores obtained in the Eastern Nankai Trough Konno, Yoshihiro; Jin, Yusuke; Yoneda, Jun Marine and Petroleum Geology, Vol. 66 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2015.02.021	journal	September 2015
Effect of capillary term parameters on the thermodynamic modeling of methane hydrate formation in porous media Pesaran, Alireza; Shariati, Alireza Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, Vol. 14 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2013.06.003	journal	September 2013
Three-Phase Relative Permeabilities from Displacement Experiments with Full Account for Capillary Pressure Helset, H. M.; Nordtvedt, J. E.; Skjaeveland, S. M. SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering, Vol. 1, Issue 02 https://doi.org/10.2118/36684-PA	journal	April 1998
Experimental investigation of gas-water relative permeability for gas-hydrate-bearing sediments from the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope Johnson, Andrew; Patil, Shirish; Dandekar, Abhijit Marine and Petroleum Geology, Vol. 28, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2009.10.013	journal	February 2011
Greenland melt drives continuous export of methane from the ice-sheet bed Lamarche-Gagnon, Guillaume; Wadham, Jemma L.; Sherwood Lollar, Barbara Nature, Vol. 565, Issue 7737 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0800-0	journal	January 2019
Numerical Studies of Gas Production From Class 2 and Class 3 Hydrate Accumulations at the Mallik Site, Mackenzie Delta, Canada Moridis, G. J. SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering, Vol. 7, Issue 03 https://doi.org/10.2118/88039-PA	journal	June 2004
Computed Relative Permeability Drainage and Imbibition Ashford, Frank E. Fall Meeting of the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME https://doi.org/10.2118/2582-MS	conference	April 2013
Effects of Pore Sizes on Dissociation Temperatures and Pressures of Methane, Carbon Dioxide, and Propane Hydrates in Porous Media Uchida, Tsutomu; Ebinuma, Takao; Takeya, Satoshi The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Vol. 106, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1021/jp012823w	journal	January 2002
Capillary effects on phase behavior of liquid and gaseous propane and dynamics of hydrate formation and dissociation in porous media Buleiko, V. M.; Grigoriev, B. A.; Istomin, V. A. Fluid Phase Equilibria, Vol. 441 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fluid.2017.01.026	journal	June 2017
A new theoretical interpretation of Archie's saturation exponent Glover, Paul W. J. Solid Earth, Vol. 8, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.5194/se-8-805-2017	journal	January 2017
Elastic-wave velocity in marine sediments with gas hydrates: Effective medium modeling Helgerud, M. B.; Dvorkin, J.; Nur, A. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 26, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1029/1999GL900421	journal	July 1999
Relative water and gas permeability for gas production from hydrate-bearing sediments Mahabadi, Nariman; Jang, Jaewon Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Vol. 15, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GC005331	journal	June 2014
Effect of gas hydrate formation and decomposition on flow properties of fine-grained quartz sand sediments using X-ray CT based pore network model simulation Wang, Daigang; Wang, Chenchen; Li, Chengfeng Fuel, Vol. 226 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2018.04.042	journal	August 2018
Methane beneath Greenland’s ice sheet is being released Andrews, Lauren C. Nature, Vol. 565, Issue 7737 https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-07762-7	journal	January 2019
Physical properties of hydrate-bearing sediments Waite, W. F.; Santamarina, J. C.; Cortes, D. D. Reviews of Geophysics, Vol. 47, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1029/2008RG000279	journal	January 2009
Pore-scale modeling of flow in particle packs containing grain-coating and pore-filling hydrates: Verification of a Kozeny–Carman-based permeability reduction model Katagiri, Jun; Konno, Yoshihiro; Yoneda, Jun Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, Vol. 45 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2017.06.019	journal	September 2017
Numerical simulations for short-term depressurization production test of two gas hydrate sections in the Black Sea Merey, Sukru; Sinayuc, Caglar Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, Vol. 44 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2017.04.011	journal	August 2017
Fundamental principles and applications of natural gas hydrates Sloan, E. Dendy Nature, Vol. 426, Issue 6964 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02135	journal	November 2003
Structural Investigation of Methane Hydrate Sediments by Microfocus X-ray Computed Tomography Technique under High-Pressure Conditions Jin, Shigeki; Nagao, Jiro; Takeya, Satoshi Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 45, Issue No. 27 https://doi.org/10.1143/JJAP.45.L714	journal	July 2006
The Measurement of Permeability of Porous Media with Methane Hydrate Liang, H.; Song, Y.; Chen, Y. Petroleum Science and Technology, Vol. 29, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1080/10916460903096871	journal	January 2011
Multiobjective optimization of the particle aspect ratio for gravel pack in a methane-hydrate reservoir using pore scale simulation Katagiri, Jun; Yoneda, Jun; Tenma, Norio Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, Vol. 35 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2016.09.037	journal	September 2016
Physical Properties of Gas Hydrates: A Review Gabitto, Jorge F.; Tsouris, Costas Journal of Thermodynamics, Vol. 2010 https://doi.org/10.1155/2010/271291	journal	January 2010
Laboratory validation of effective acoustic velocity models for samples bearing hydrates of different type Dugarov, Geser A.; Duchkov, Anton A.; Duchkov, Albert D. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, Vol. 63 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2019.01.007	journal	March 2019
Experimental determination of permeability of porous media in the presence of gas hydrates Delli, Mohana L.; Grozic, Jocelyn L. H. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, Vol. 120 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2014.05.011	journal	August 2014
Exploration strategy for economically significant accumulations of marine gas hydrate Kleinberg, R. L. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, Vol. 319, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1144/SP319.3	journal	January 2009
Methane hydrate stability and anthropogenic climate change Archer, D. Biogeosciences, Vol. 4, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-4-521-2007	journal	January 2007
Production performance of gas hydrate accumulation at the GMGS2-Site 16 of the Pearl River Mouth Basin in the South China Sea Feng, Jing-Chun; Wang, Yi; Li, Xiao-Sen Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, Vol. 27 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2015.08.071	journal	November 2015
State-of-the-Art of Gas Hydrates and Relative Permeability of Hydrate Bearing Sediments Joseph, J.; Singh, D. N.; Kumar, P. Marine Georesources & Geotechnology, Vol. 34, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1080/1064119X.2015.1025929	journal	May 2015
First observation of direct methane emission to the atmosphere from the subglacial domain of the Greenland Ice Sheet Christiansen, Jesper Riis; Jørgensen, Christian Juncher Scientific Reports, Vol. 8, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-35054-7	journal	November 2018
Phase behavior of methane and carbon dioxide hydrates in meso- and macro-sized porous media Kang, Seong-Pil; Lee, Jong-Won; Ryu, Ho-Jung Fluid Phase Equilibria, Vol. 274, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fluid.2008.09.003	journal	December 2008
Numerical simulations of depressurization-induced gas production from gas hydrates using 3-D heterogeneous models of L-Pad, Prudhoe Bay Unit, North Slope Alaska Myshakin, Evgeniy M.; Ajayi, Taiwo; Anderson, Brian J. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, Vol. 35 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2016.09.070	journal	September 2016
Numerical studies of gas production from several CH4 hydrate zones at the Mallik site, Mackenzie Delta, Canada Moridis, George J.; Collett, Timothy S.; Dallimore, Scott R. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, Vol. 43, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2004.02.015	journal	August 2004
Effect of hydrate nucleation mechanisms and capillarity on permeability reduction in granular media: NUCLEATION-DEPENDENT PERMEABILITY Kang, Dong Hun; Yun, Tae Sup; Kim, Kwang Yeom Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 43, Issue 17 https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL070511	journal	September 2016
Mechanism of Fluid Displacement in Sands Buckley, S. E.; Leverett, M. C. Transactions of the AIME, Vol. 146, Issue 01 https://doi.org/10.2118/942107-G	journal	December 1942
Ostwald ripening changes the pore habit and spatial variability of clathrate hydrate Chen, Xiongyu; Espinoza, D. Nicolas Fuel, Vol. 214 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2017.11.065	journal	February 2018
Capillary effects on hydrate stability in marine sediments Liu, Xiaoli; Flemings, Peter B. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 116, Issue B7 https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JB008143	journal	January 2011
The effect of hydrate saturation on water retention curves in hydrate-bearing sediments: Water Retention Curves in THF HBS Mahabadi, Nariman; Zheng, Xianglei; Jang, Jaewon Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 43, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068656	journal	May 2016
Operation Overview of the 2002 Mallik Gas Hydrate Production Research Well Program at the Mackenzie Delta in the Canadian Arctic Takahashi, Hideaki; Yonezawa, Tetsuo; Fercho, Ed Offshore Technology Conference https://doi.org/10.4043/15124-MS	conference	April 2013
Numerical simulation on gas production from hydrate reservoir at the 1st offshore test site in the eastern Nankai Trough Sun, Jiaxin; Ning, Fulong; Zhang, Ling Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, Vol. 30 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2016.01.036	journal	March 2016
Observations of pore-scale growth patterns of carbon dioxide hydrate using X-ray computed microtomography Ta, Xuan Hien; Yun, Tae Sup; Muhunthan, Balasingam Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Vol. 16, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GC005675	journal	March 2015
Potential methane reservoirs beneath Antarctica Wadham, J. L.; Arndt, S.; Tulaczyk, S. Nature, Vol. 488, Issue 7413 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11374	journal	August 2012
Analysis of the influence of wettability on permeability in hydrate-bearing porous media using pore network models combined with computed tomography Wang, Jiaqi; Zhao, Jiafei; Zhang, Yi Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, Vol. 26 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2015.08.021	journal	September 2015
Direct isotopic evidence of biogenic methane production and efflux from beneath a temperate glacier Burns, R.; Wynn, P. M.; Barker, P. Scientific Reports, Vol. 8, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-35253-2	journal	November 2018
Experimental determination of permeability in the presence of hydrates and its effect on the dissociation characteristics of gas hydrates in porous media Kumar, Anjani; Maini, Brij Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, Vol. 70, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2009.10.005	journal	January 2010
Comparison of methods to calculate relative permeability from capillary pressure in consolidated water-wet porous media: METHODS TO CALCULATE RELATIVE PERMEABILITY Li, Kewen; Horne, Roland N. Water Resources Research, Vol. 42, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1029/2005WR004482	journal	June 2006
Pore-Scale Visualization of Methane Hydrate-Bearing Sediments With Micro-CT Lei, Liang; Seol, Yongkoo; Jarvis, Karl Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 45, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL078507	journal	June 2018
Permeability of porous solids Millington, R. J.; Quirk, J. P. Transactions of the Faraday Society, Vol. 57 https://doi.org/10.1039/tf9615701200	journal	January 1961
Calculation of Relative Permeability from Displacement Experiments Johnson, E. F.; Bossler, D. P.; Bossler, V. O. Naumann Transactions of the AIME, Vol. 216, Issue 01 https://doi.org/10.2118/1023-G	journal	December 1959
Methane hydrate stability and anthropogenic climate change Archer, D. Biogeosciences Discussions, Vol. 4, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.5194/bgd-4-993-2007	journal	January 2007

Similar Records

Mechanisms Leading to Co-Existence of Gas Hydrate in Ocean Sediments [Part 1 of 2]

Technical Report · Sat Dec 31 00:00:00 EST 2011 · OSTI ID:1569749

Bryant, Steven; Juanes, Ruben

Mechanisms Leading to Co-Existence of Gas Hydrate in Ocean Sediments [Part 2 of 2]

Technical Report · Sat Dec 31 00:00:00 EST 2011 · OSTI ID:1569749

Bryant, Steven; Juanes, Ruben

A Novel Relative Permeability Model for Gas and Water Flow in Hydrate-Bearing Sediments With Laboratory and Field-Scale Application

Journal Article · Mon Mar 30 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · Scientific Reports · OSTI ID:1569749

Singh, Harpreet; Myshakin, Evgeniy M.; Seol, Yongkoo

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES

Title: A Mechanistic Model for Relative Permeability of Gas and Water Flow in Hydrate-Bearing Porous Media With Capillarity

Citation Formats

References (54)

Similar Records

Related Subjects