Towards Commercial Gas Production from Hydrate Deposits

Silva, Jill Marcelle-De; Dawe, Richard A.

doi:10.3390/en4020215

Cited by 28 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 55 publications

(97 reference statements)

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“…Taking into account also those found in cold seeps areas, the global estimated amount of methane hydrate may be even more (Pinero et al, 2013;Sloan & Koh, 2008;Wallmann et al, 2012). The abundance of contained in methane hydrate makes it an efficient and clean burning fuel (Kvenvolden, 1993(Kvenvolden, , 1999Silva & Dawe, 2011;Sloan & Koh, 2008). Nevertheless, methane hydrate tends to be unstable in response to changes in environmental temperature, pressure, and fluid composition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Numerical Model to Estimate the Effects of Variable Sedimentation Rates on Methane Hydrate Formation—Application to the ODP Site 997 on Blake Ridge, Southeastern North American Continental Margin

Zheng

Cao

et al. 2020

JGR Solid Earth

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Sedimentation and burial rate can vary considerably at continental slopes, due to constantly changing tectonic processes on the geological timescale. This variation may affect the transport of methane in sediment, as manifested in the change of pore water flux, methanogenesis, methane diffusion and hydrate removal from hydrate stability zone (HSZ) and further affect the accumulation of hydrate in submarine sediments. Most of previous models assumed a constant sedimentation rate and thus may result in inaccurate estimates of total amount of hydrate within the HSZ. In this study, we developed a hydrate accumulation model that is capable of handling multiple sedimentation stages. Site 997 of ODP Leg 164, with data indicating its recent history of four sedimentation stages of different rates, is chosen to investigate the significance of sedimentation rate variation experienced at this location. We examined the effect of varying sedimentation rates on hydrate accumulation by taking in consideration sediment compaction, in situ methanogenesis, and composition and component transport processes. Simulation results suggest that the history of hydrate accumulation at Site 997 is characterized by a sequence of increase, decrease, and then increase till the present day. At present, the hydrate deposit has accumulated to 8.30 × 10 4 mol/m 2 , and the average hydrate saturation near the base of the HSZ is 6.3%, which is in general agreement with published estimates in the literature. The accumulation of hydrate at Site 997 was significantly affected by variable sedimentation rates, and nearly one half of the hydrate deposit was accumulated during the last 2.5 Myr. Plain Language Summary Methane hydrate forms in submarine sediments where thermodynamic conditions are satisfied and adequate methane is available. Three main mechanisms have been proposed for adequate methane availability: in situ methanogenesis, advection of methane-bearing fluids, and diffusion of methane. However, in actual environments off continental margins, a variable sedimentation rate may significantly affect the above mechanisms and thus change the amount of methane supply. Therefore, the formation of methane hydrate is influenced eventually. Meanwhile, the dissociation of methane hydrate changes simultaneously with a variable sedimentation rate. Hence, it is unclear how will hydrate reservoirs respond to different sedimentation rate values. In this study, we selected Site 997 of the ODP Leg 164 due to the significant variations in sedimentation rate and developed a hydrate accumulation model reflected several sedimentary stages. We highlighted the importance of consideration of variation of sedimentation rate in the estimation of total amount of hydrate within the HSZ and drawn a conclusion that dissociation of hydrate is more sensitive to the changes in sedimentation rate compared to hydrate formation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Numerical Model to Estimate the Effects of Variable Sedimentation Rates on Methane Hydrate Formation—Application to the ODP Site 997 on Blake Ridge, Southeastern North American Continental Margin

Zheng

Cao

et al. 2020

JGR Solid Earth

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“…The principle of the depressurization method is to reduce pressure in a gas production well in the reservoir to below phase equilibrium pressure of NGH, so that NGH near the gas production well is in an unstable state, thereby inducing its decomposition and production of natural gas . With decomposition of hydrate and production of natural gas, the low-pressure area in reservoir will gradually expand, which will induce more NGH decomposition and produce more natural gas. , Numerous laboratory efforts have been made to study the depressurization method .…”

Section: Gas Production By Depressurization-based Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing Gas Production from Hydrate-Bearing Reservoirs through Depressurization-Based Approaches: Knowledge from Laboratory Experiments

et al. 2021

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There have been several field tests around the world to recover natural gas from gas hydrate reservoirs. A most recent trial took place in the South China Sea, breaking the records of cumulative and daily gas yield from marine hydrate deposits. However, significant challenges still remain while approaching commercial gas production. These may involve but are not limited to the ultralow permeability of the reservoir, insufficient heat supply, unstable gas yield fluctuations, sand problem upon water production from the silty sediments, and secondary hydrate formation or ice generation blocking the pore spaces. Consequently, intensive efforts have been made to understand and, thereby, manipulate the complicated gas production process. Of special interest are the studies on the determination and optimization of the depressurization scheme, because depressurization is recognized to be most promising toward an economically efficient gas recovery. Therefore, in this work, we elaborated on the effects of pressure regulation on the behavior of gas and water yield and characteristics of the reservoir during the gas production process through depressurization-based approaches. Particular attention was paid on the enhancement of the gas production rate and energy efficiency under various scenarios. The advantages and limitations of the current investigation were also discussed to present preliminary suggestions and perspectives for future studies. This work could provide a brief view of the current efforts on improving the gas production efficiency at a laboratory scale; further investigations are still required to scale-up these findings to provide guidance to the field test in the future.

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“…The primary reason causing this phenomenon is the reduced permeability due to the existence of solid hydrates in sediment porous spaces. These limitations lead to lower production volumes per well in the beginning, which is expected to gradually improve with longer duration and a wider area of accessibility of the already dissociated sediment’s empty porous spaces for better conductivity and control over production based on the petrophysical properties of the reservoir . Production tests across the globe show that the average production can range between 0.9 m 3 /h and 826.4 m 3 /h (refer to Table ) depending upon the location, geology, chemical and physical properties, and total production period.…”

Section: Challenges Gaps and Future Recommendations For Exchange-base...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Review and Perspectives of Energy-Efficient Methane Production from Natural Gas Hydrate Reservoirs Using Carbon Dioxide Exchange Technology

et al. 2023

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Natural gas hydrates are unconventional abundant hydrocarbon energy resources that can guarantee energy sustainability with little environmental impact. The solid nature of the resource, distinct thermodynamic characteristics, and accumulations at shallow depths make the existing conventional production techniques unviable. Among all the currently explored production techniques, the hydrate-based carbon capture and sequestration (HBCCS) technique is expected to improve production, proven to be geomechanically safer, and conceptualized to be environmentally friendly. In this carbon-neutral production concept, carbon emissions are effectively sequestered for the long-term. This review presents a comprehensive overview and perspective of the CO 2 exchange-based approach to extract methane (CH 4 ) from naturally occurring gas hydrate reserves, emphasizes its prospect as a suitable alternative according to the current energy demands and climate concerns, establishes its environmental and production challenges, and demonstrates the recent developments. This review focuses on the production aspect and discusses the mechanism of the exchange process, experimental and modeling studies, various in situ production tests using different techniques on multiple sediments, and production challenges associated with the exchange process. The aspects of geomechanics and possibilities of fracturing in hydrate reservoirs are also discussed elaborately. A suitable and effective technique is yet to be established to produce natural gas commercially by addressing the existing challenges like sand production, seafloor stability concerns, marine ecosystem problems, low production rate, uncontrolled dissociation, water production, etc. Although the CO 2 exchange-based method is thermodynamically favorable, rapid crystallization of CO 2 restricts mass transfer and prevents continuous exchange. The exchange process is also influenced by heat, salinity, residual water saturation, exchange gas composition, injection phase, injection pressure, sediment properties, etc. There is a need to study the CO 2 −CH 4 exchange process at a fundamental level and at a larger scale, to understand its intricacies. In tandem with comprehensively discussing the subject, this review has listed the issues that require tenable solutions, which shall be helpful to readers who wish to work on production from CH 4 hydrates using the CO 2 exchange process. Methane hydrates shall be one of the strategic energy sources to meet our growing energy requirements for a sustainable future.

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Towards Commercial Gas Production from Hydrate Deposits

Cited by 28 publications

References 55 publications

A Numerical Model to Estimate the Effects of Variable Sedimentation Rates on Methane Hydrate Formation—Application to the ODP Site 997 on Blake Ridge, Southeastern North American Continental Margin

A Numerical Model to Estimate the Effects of Variable Sedimentation Rates on Methane Hydrate Formation—Application to the ODP Site 997 on Blake Ridge, Southeastern North American Continental Margin

Enhancing Gas Production from Hydrate-Bearing Reservoirs through Depressurization-Based Approaches: Knowledge from Laboratory Experiments

Review and Perspectives of Energy-Efficient Methane Production from Natural Gas Hydrate Reservoirs Using Carbon Dioxide Exchange Technology

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