Hydrate-induced clogging of sand-control screen and its implication on hydrate production operation

Wang

et al. 2022

JMSE

Sand production is one of the main problems restricting the safe, efficient and sustainable exploitation of marine natural gas hydrate. To explore the sand-control effects of gravel packing, experiments that simulate hydrate extraction in the water-rich environment were conducted with designed hydrate synthesis and exploitation devices. Three sand control completion methods, including 120 mesh sand screen, 400 mesh sand screen, 120 mesh sand screen combined with gravel packing, are adopted. Sand and gas production rates were compared under different well types and sand control completion methods. Results show that the gas production modes of radial wells and vertical wells are almost the same at the same time due to the small experimental scale and high permeability. The sand production of the vertical well with gravel packing combined with a sand-control screen is 50% lower than that of the vertical well with sand-control screens only. Radial well with gravel packing combined with sand-control screens produced 87% less sand than screen mesh alone. The cumulative gas production and recovery rates of a radial well with the composite sand control method are better than those without gravel packing in the same development time.

Section: Temperature and Pressure Change In Radial Well Depressurization Of Hydrate Sediments In Water-rich Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Temperature and Pressure Change In Radial Well Depressurization Of Hydrate Sediments In Water-rich Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Solution to Sand Production from Natural Gas Hydrate Deposits with Radial Wells: Combined Gravel Packing and Sand Screen

Wang

et al. 2022

JMSE

“…Li et al 314 revealed that the accumulation of hydrate particles driven by subcooling as well as the bridging of hydrate particles influenced by the fluid velocity were the leading causes for the clogging of the sand-control screen, which could be monitored by the "J-shape" coiling of the pressure− temperature relationship.…”

Section: Hydrate Particle Deposition Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Status of Natural Gas Hydrate Flow Assurance Research in China: A Review

Shi¹,

Song²,

Duan³

et al. 2021

Energy Fuels

Natural gas hydrates (NGH) are prone to causing pipeline blockage in flow assurance, attracting considerable attention in the petroleum industry. This work reviews the significant progress in hydrate flow assurance research in China. Gas hydrate structures are briefly introduced to provide a basic understanding, while the application and development of hydrate management strategies in China are summarized. Subsequently, the development and improvement of hydrate phase equilibrium models are presented, which have been widely applied to the practical challenges of flow assurance. Moreover, kinetics research involving hydrate nucleation, growth, and decomposition are summarized, including nucleation mechanisms, induction time, memory effect, hydrate growth at different interfaces, hydrate growth at a microscopic level, and hydrate decomposition under different systems. The current research status of hydrate slurry flow is also analyzed in detail, covering the viscosity and flow resistance of hydrate slurry and the mechanisms of hydrate particle aggregation, deposition, and blockage. In addition, even though the numerical models of hydrate slurry multiphase flow have been sorted out, the accurate quantitative calculations and risk assessments are still in the initial stage, presenting significant room for improvement. Although substantial research progress has been made in China regarding gas hydrate flow assurance, considerable effort should be devoted to further understanding the intrinsic mechanism work to improve the applicability of various models. This review discusses the current developments, existing problems, and future prospects in the various basic hydrate flow assurance fields in China. It aims to provide readers with an overview of hydrate flow assurance research in China, hoping to provide a reference for developing this field.

“…Hydrate reformation is common during NGH exploitation due to the memory effect. − The secondary hydrate-induced plugging of sand-control media was comprehensively discussed by Li et al The experimental result revealed that hydrate reformation within sand screens would cause permeability loss of up to 98%, which would severely affect gas productivity. During hydrate clogging, the permeability of the screen shows dual-gradient decreasing characteristics (see Figure ).…”

Section: Recent Advances In Sand Control Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sand Production Management during Marine Natural Gas Hydrate Exploitation: Review and an Innovative Solution

Chen

et al. 2021

Energy Fuels

Self Cite

Natural gas hydrate (NGH) is widely distributed worldwide with great reserves and is generally accepted as a promising alternative energy source. However, sustainable, efficient, and safe NGH development has been proven to be restricted by a series of geomechanical problems, among which sand production has become prominent and attention-catching. This review systematically summarizes the up-to-date literatures and reports our latest work to improve the fundamental understandings of the sand production issues in NGH development. It is noted that sand production is defined as a systematic “issue”, rather than a “problem” in this paper, considering both the adverse and favorable influences of sand production on continuous gas production from hydrate-bearing sediment (HBS). Several challenges and insightful suggestions are put forward for future research from the viewpoint of the sand production management system (SMS). Furthermore, an innovative method for unlocking conflicts between sand production and gas extraction in muddy HBS is proposed, namely, the gravel-huff to clay-puff replacement (GCR) technique. The outlook and perspectives of this technique are presented, as well as the key challenges to be resolved.