Review of exploration and production technology of natural gas hydrate

Abstract

Natural gas hydrate is an ice-like substance which is sometimes called “combustible ice” since it can literally be lighted on fire and burned as fuel. Natural gas hydrate is characterized by widespread distribution, large reserves and little pollution. This paper introduced the distributions of hydrate, hydrate reserves and properties of hydrate. The main exploration methods, such as geophysical exploration and geochemical exploration have been presented. In addition, the main production techniques of natural gas hydrate including depressurization, thermal stimulation and chemical injection have been summed up. Finally, the challenges and outlooks of natural gas hydrate production have been proposed.

Cited as: Cui, Y., Lu, C., Wu, M., Peng, Y., Yao, Y., Luo, W. Review of exploration and production technology of natural gas hydrate. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2018, 2(1): 53-62, doi: 10.26804/ager.2018.01.05

References

Aregbe, A.G. Gas hydrate-properties, formation and benefits. Open J. Yangtze Oil Gas 2017, 2(1): 27-44.

Bohrmann, G., Torres, M.E. Gas Hydrates in Marine Sediments. Berlin, Heidelberg, UK, Springer, 2006.

Boswell, R., Shipp, C., Reichel, T., et al. Prospecting for marine gas hydrate resources. Interpretation 2016, 4(1): 13-24.

Carroll, J. Natural Gas Hydrates: A Guide for Engineers. Burlington, USA, Gulf Professional Publishing, 2009.

Davidson, D.W. Clathrate Hydrates. Boston, USA, Springer, 1973.

Demirbas, A. Processes for Methane Production From Gas Hydrates. London, UK, Springer, 2010a. Demirbas, A. Methane hydrates as a potential energy resource. Energy Convers. Manag. 2010b, 51(7): 1547-1571.

Dong, F., Zang, X., Li, D., et al. Experimental investigation on propane hydrate dissociation by high concentration methanol and ethylene glycol solution injection. Energy Fuels 2009, 23(3): 1563-1567.

Englezos, P. Clathrate hydrates. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 1993, 32(7): 1251-1274.

Fan, S., Zhang, Y., Tian, G., et al. Natural gas hydrate dissociation by presence of ethylene glycol. Energy Fuels 2005, 20(1): 324-326.

Ginsburg, G.D., Solovev, V.A. Submarine gas hydrate estima-tion: Theoretical and empirical approaches. Paper OTC-7693-MS Presented at Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, Texas, 1-4 May, 1995.

Grace, J., Collett, T., Colwell, F., et al. Energy from gas hydratesassessing the opportunities and challenges for Canada. Report of the Expert Panel on Gas Hydrates, CCA, 2008.

Haacke, R.R., Westbrook, G.K., Hyndman, R.D. Gas hydrate, fluid flow and free gas: Formation of the bottom-simulating reflector. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 2007, 261(3-4): 407-420.

Hammerschmidt, E.G. Formation of gas hydrates in natural gas transmission lines. Ind. Eng. Chem. 1934, 26(8): 851-855.

Hao, Y.M., Bo, Q.W., Chen, Y.M., et al. Laboratory investigation of pressure development of natural gas hydrates. Pet. Explor. Dev. 2006, 33(2): 217-220.

Hesse, R. Pore water anomalies of submarine gas-hydrate zones as tool to assess hydrate abundance and distribution in the subsurface: What have we learned in the past decade. Earth-Sci. Rev. 2003, 61(1-2): 149-179.

Hesse, R., Harrison, W.E. Gas hydrates (clathrates) causing pore-water freshening and oxygen-isotope fractionation in deep-water sedimentary sections of terrigenous continental margins. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 1981, 55(3): 453-461.

Holbrook, W.S., Hoskins, H., Wood, W.T., et al. Methane hydrate and free gas on the blake ridge from vertical seismic profiling. Science 1996, 273(5283): 1840-1843.

Hyndman, R.D., Spence, G.D., Chapman, R., et al. Geophys-ical studies of marine gas hydrate in northern cascadia. Geophys. Monogr. 2001, 124: 273-295.

Kennett, J.P., Cannariato, K.G., Hendy, I.L., et al. Methane hydrates in quaternary climate change: The clathrate gun hypothesi, in Methane Hydrates in Quaternary Climate Change: The Clathrate Gun Hypothesis, edited by J.P. Kennett, K.G. Cannariato, I.L. Hendy and R.J. Behl, American Geophysical Union, pp. 1-9, 2013.

Krason, J., Finley, P.D. Messoyakh gas field-russia: West siberian basin. AAPG Special Volumes 1992, 197-220.

Kumar, B.G.V., Singh, A.P., Ganguly, S. Effect of heat diffusion in the burden on the dissociation of methane in a hydrate bearing formation. J. Nat. Gas Sci. Eng. 2014, 16(16): 70-76.

Lee, J. Experimental study on the dissociation behavior and productivity of gas hydrate by brine injection scheme in porous rock. Energy Fuels 2009, 24(1): 456-463.

Lee, J.Y., Ryu, B.J., Yun, T.S., et al. Review on the gas hydrate development and production as a new energy resource. KSCE J. Civ. Eng. 2011, 15(4): 689-696.

Li, X.S., Xu, C.G., Zhang, Y., et al. Investigation into gas production from natural gas hydrate: A review. Appl. Energy 2016, 172: 286-322.

Macdonald, I.R., Bender, L.C., Vardaro, M., et al. Thermal and visual time-series at a seafloor gas hydrate deposit on the Gulf of Mexico slope. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 2005, 233(1-2): 45-59.

MacKay, M.E., Jarrard, R.D., Westbrook, G.K., et al. Origin of bottom-simulating reflectors: Geophysical evidence from the Cascadia accretionary prism. Geology 1994, 22(5): 459-462.

Makogon, Y.F. Hydrates of Hydrocarbons. Tulsa and Okla-homa, PennWell Books, 1997.

Makogon, Y.F., Holditch, S.A., Makogon, T.Y. Natural gas-hydrates-A potential energy source for the 21st Century. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 2007, 56(1): 14-31.

Moridis, G.J. Toward production from gas hydrates: current status, assessment of resources, and simulation-based evaluation of technology and potential. SPE Reserv. Eval. Eng. 2009, 12(5): 745-771.

Moridis, G.J., Collett, T.S., Boswell, R., et al. Gas Hydrates As a Potential Energy Source: State of Knowledge and Challenges. New York, USA, Springer, 2013.

Moridis, G.J., Collett, T.S., Pooladi-Darvish, M., et al. Chal-lenges, uncertainties, and issues facing gas production from gas-hydrate deposits. SPE Reserv. Eval. Eng. 2011, 14(1): 76-112.

Moridis, G.J., Kowalsky, M. Gas production from unconfined Class 2 oceanic hydrate accumulations. Paper OTC 18866 Presented at 2007 Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, Texas, USA, 30 April-3 May, 2007.

Moridis, G.J., Kowalsky, M.B., Pruess, K. Depressurization-induced gas production from class-1 hydrate deposits. SPE Reserv. Eval. Eng. 2007, 10(5): 458-481.

Moridis, G.J., Reagan, M.T. Gas production from class 2 hydrate accumulations in the permafrost. Paper SPE 110858 Presented at 2007 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Anaheim, California, USA, 11-14 November, 2007.

Moridis, G.J., Sloan, E.D. Gas production potential of disperse low-saturation hydrate accumulations in oceanic sediments. Energy Convers. Manag. 2007, 48(6): 1834-1849.

Pecher, I.A., Kukowski, N., Ranero, C.S.R., et al. Gas hydrates along the Peru and Middle America trench systems. Geophys. Monogr. 2013, 124: 257-271.

Pecher, I.A., Ranero, C.R., Von Huene, R., et al. The nature and distribution of bottom simulating reflectors at the Costa Rican convergent margin. Geophys. J. Int. 1998, 133(2): 219-229.

Pooladi-Darvish, M. Gas production from hydrate reservoirs and its modeling. J. Pet. Technol. 2004, 56(6): 65-71.

Qi, Y., Wu, W., Liu, Y., et al. The influence of NaCl ions on hydrate structure and thermodynamic equilibrium conditions of gas hydrates. Fluid Phase Equilib. 2012, 325: 6-10.

Ruppel, C. Thermal state of the gas hydrate reservoir, in Natural Gas Hydrate: In Oceanic and Permafrost Environments, edited by M. D. Max, Springer, New York, pp. 29-42, 2000.

Sanden, K., Rushfeldt, P., Graff, O.F., et al. Long distance transport of Natural Gas Hydrate to Japan. Presented at the Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Gas Hydrates, Trondheim, Norway, 12-16 June, 2005.

Schlesinger, A., Cullen, J., Spence, G., et al. Seismic velocities on the Nova Scotian margin to estimate gas hydrate and free gas concentrations. Mar. Pet. Geol. 2012, 35(1): 105-115.

Singh, S.C., Minshull, T.A., Spence, G. Velocity structure of a gas hydrate reflector. Science 1993, 260(5105): 204-207.

Sira, J.H., Patil, S.L., Kamath, V.A. Study of hydrate dissoci-ation by methanol and glycol injection. Paper SPE 20770 Presented at SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, New Orleans, Louisiana, 23-26 September, 1990.

Sloan, E.D., Koh, C.A. Clathrate Hydrates of the Natural Gases. New York, USA, CRC Press, 2008.

Tabatabaie, S.H. Unconventional reservoirs: Mathematical modeling of some non-linear problems. Canada, Uni-versity of Calgary, 2014.

Thakur, N.K., Rajput, S. Exploration of Gas Hydrates: Geophysical Techniques. Berlin Heidelberg, German, Springer, 2010.

Tohidi, B. Advances in avoiding gas hydrate problems. Presented at Centre for Gas Hydrate Research & Hydrafact Ltd., Institute of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, 2014, 1-47.

Trehu, A.M. Gas hydrates in marine sediments: Lessons from scientific ocean drilling. Oceanography 2006, 19: 124-142.

Veluswamy, H.P., Kumar, R., Linga, P. Hydrogen storage in clathrate hydrates: Current state of the art and future directions. Appl. Energy 2014, 122: 112-132.

Wang, L.F., Fu, S.Y., Liang, J.Q., et al. A review on gas hydrate developments propped by worldwide national projects. Geology in China 2017, 44(3): 439-448. (in Chinese)

Yi, L., Liang, D. Decomposition mechanism of methane hydrate in brine solution by molecular dynamics simulation. Presented at The 8th international conference on gas hydrate Beijing, China, 28 July-1 August, 2014.

Yuan, Q., Sun, C.Y., Yang, X., et al. Recovery of methane from hydrate reservoir with gaseous carbon dioxide using a three-dimensional middle-size reactor. Energy 2012, 40(1): 47-58.