Numerical Simulation of Natural-Gas-Hydrate Decomposition in Process of Heat-Injection Production

Abstract

Heat-injection production is a common technique for gas-hydrate development, and the mechanism needs further in-depth study, particularly of the decomposition characteristics of natural-gas hydrate, which are important fundamental issues. The natural gas-hydrate-reservoir model is based on a mathematical description of reservoir properties that considers the effects of hydrate decomposition and reservoir stress conditions. The aim of our investigation was to analyze the production and decomposition characteristics of natural-gas hydrates based on the results of numerical simulations of heat-injection production. The effects of different heat-injection temperatures and heat-injection rates on production were compared, and the decomposition characteristics of hydrates were evaluated qualitatively and characterized quantitatively by temperature distribution, saturation distribution, and the decomposition front in the process of heat-injection production of natural-gas hydrate. The results showed that, with the increase in the heat-injection temperature, the decomposition front moved faster, the area share of decomposition zone increased, but the increase extent decreased. The high heat-injection rate had a more significant effect than the heat-injection temperature in promoting the decomposition of natural-gas hydrate.