Over the last decade global natural gas consumption has steadily increased since many industrialized countries are substituting natural gas for coal to generate electricity. There is also significant industrialization and economic growth of the heavily populated Asian countries of India and China. The general consensus is that there are vast quantities of natural gas trapped in hydrate deposits in geological systems, and this has resulted in the emerging importance of hydrates as a potential energy resource and an accompanying proliferation of recent studies on the technical and economic feasibility of gas production from hydrates. There are then the associated environmental concerns. This study reviews the state of knowledge with respect to natural gas hydrates and outlines remaining challenges and knowledge gaps.
TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractWaterflooding is the most widely used form of enhancing oil production from oil and gas reservoirs. Since all hydrocarbon reservoirs are heterogeneous, it is necessary to understand the physics associated with flow in these reservoirs to better predict production performance, and to allow for the proper placement of injection and production wells. This paper focuses on effects of well-defined heterogeneities on the immiscible displacement processes.Flow experiments were performed using two-dimensional visual models packed with unconsolidated glass beads, and having carefully controlled permeability and wettability heterogeneities. The immiscible displacement experiments demonstrated the significant effect of such permeability and wettability heterogeneities on flow patterns, residual saturations and recoveries. In some instances, during waterflooding experiments, high permeability regions were bypassed due to capillary pressure differences. Nodal crossflow was also observed.These results can be used to validate the results of numerical simulators and x-ray CT scanning. They can also be used to assist in the understanding of actual reservoir production performance under immiscible type displacement processes.
Natural gas hydrates are increasingly viewed as a potential economic resource as energy demands rise. In this study, three-dimensional seismic data for Block 26 in the Atlantic Continental Margin offshore Trinidad were evaluated to determine if there is the potential for oceanic hydrate-bearing sediments. The seismic dataset covered an area of approximately 1210 km 2 of the continental slope. A bottom simulating reflector which generally ran parallel to the sea floor and cut the dominant stratigraphy was observed and mapped over approximately 43% of the study area.
It is anticipated that increasing pressure for cleaner burning fuels and lower carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions will cause a shift in global energy demand from oil to natural gas. In the near future, natural gas is expected to replace crude oil as the fuel of choice for energy production and transportation. In Trinidad and Tobago, natural-gas production has already surpassed crude-oil production. Natural gas accounts for 80% of the country's energy export, but the reserves-to-production ratio is only 7 years (year 2022). Consequently, the Ministry of Energy has taken steps to supplement the natural-gas resource base by supporting initiatives that can potentially bolster the nation's proven gas reserves. Such initiatives include invitations to tender on deepwater blocks offshore Trinidad and Tobago's gas-rich east coast.Even though initiatives are under way to boost conventional natural-gas reserves, effort was not placed on identifying and/or characterizing unconventional gas resources such as natural-gas hydrates. Furthermore, the potential hazards of submarine gas hydrates on deepwater exploration and production (E&P) activities on Trinidad and Tobago's east coast were not assessed. The results presented in this manuscript provide oil-and-gas operators with a means of proactively managing the risk associated with natural-gas hydrates. More importantly, this study acts as a necessary precursor to future studies in characterizing and, later, harnessing the energy potential of Trinidad-and-Tobago's natural-gas-hydrate deposits.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.