Application prospects of deep in-situ condition-preserved coring and testing systems

Abstract

Shallow resources are becoming increasingly depleted, deep resource exploration has become a global strategy. The design and testing of deep in-situ core samples are prerequisites for exploring deep resources; however, no in-situ condition-preserved coring and testing techniques and tools have been reported yet. Here, the first deep in-situ condition-preserved coring system (with the preservation of pressure, temperature, substance, light, and moisture) was developed that considers the effects of high water pressure and formation dynamic loads, along with an in-situ condition-preserved testing system. A pressure-preserved controller was designed, achieving the ultimate capacity of 140 MPa and 150 ◦C. A temperature-preserved coring system combining active heating and passive insulation was constructed, realizing temperature preservation from room temperature to 150 ◦C. Three generations of film-formation principles and methods were designed, achieving an excellent quality preserved rate, moisture preserved rate, and visible light barrier rate. Moreover, a deep in-situ condition-preserved coring system, and a simulated coring platform for large cores under in-situ environments was fabricated. A non-contact testing system was derived to cut and prepare specimens under in-situ environment and to perform non-contact non-destructive testing and true triaxial testing. The research findings can be successfully applied to deep coal and gas development, deep oil and gas resources assessment, and deep-sea sediment prospecting, achieving excellent application outcomes. This study provides important theoretical, technical and hardware support for deep in-situ rock physics and mechanics research and deep resource exploitation.

Document Type: Original article

Cited as: Xie, H., Gao, M., Zhang, R., Zhou, H., Gao, F., Chen, L., Peng, X., Li, X., Ju, Y. Application prospects of deep in-situ condition-preserved coring and testing systems. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2024, 14(1): 12-24. https://doi.org/10.46690/ager.2024.10.04

References

Abid, K., Spagnoli, G., Teodoriu, C., et al. Review of pressure coring systems for offshore gas hydrates research. Underwater Technology, 2015, 33(1): 19-30.

Alkan, H., Mukherjee, S., Kogler, F. Reservoir engineering of in-situ MEOR; impact of microbial community. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2020, 195: 107928.

Beloborodov, R., Gunning, J., Pervukhina, M., et al. Automated lithofluid and facies classification in well logs: The rock-physics perspective. Geophysics, 2024, 89(4): MR209-MR222.

Burger, J., Gupta, D., Jacobs, P., et al. Overview on hydrate coring, handling and analysis. United States, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information, 2003.

Chen, Y., Qin, H., Li, S., et al. Research on pressure tight sampling technique of deep-sea shallow sediment-A new approach to gas hydrate investigation. China Ocean Engineering, 2006, 20(4): 657-664.

Dickens, G. R., Wallace, P. J., Paull, C. K., et al. Detection of methane gas hydrate in the pressure core sampler (PCS): Volume-pressure-time relations during controlled degassing experiments, Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program: Scientific Results, 2000, 164: 113-126.

Fang, X., Zhang, C., Li, C., et al. Structural design and numerical analysis of an all-metal screw motor for drilling applications in high-temperature and high-pressure environments in ultra-deep wells. Applied Sciences, 2023, 13(15): 8630.

Guo, D., Chen, L., Zhou, Z., et al. Development of a pressure coring system for the investigation of deep underground exploration. International Journal of Mining Science and Technology, 2023, 33(11): 1351-1364.

He, Z., Yang, Y., Yu, B., et al. Research on properties of hollow glass microspheres/epoxy resin composites applied in deep rock in-situ temperature-preserved coring. Petroleum Science, 2022, 19(2): 720-730.

Hohnberg, H. J., Amann, H., Abegg, F., et al. Pressurized coring of near-surface gas-hydrate sediments on Hydrate Ridge: The Multiple Autoclave Corer, and first results from pressure-core X-Ray CT scans. Paper 9128 Presented at the Egs-Agu-Eug Joint Assembly, Nice, France, 6-11 April, 2003.

Inada, N., Yamamoto, K. Data report: Hybrid Pressure Coring System tool review and summary of recovery result from gas-hydrate related coring in the Nankai Project. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2015, 66: 323-345.

Kawasaki, M., Umezu, S., Yasuda, M. Pressure Temperature Core Sampler(PTCS). Journal of The Japanese Association for Petroleum Technology, 2006, 71(1): 139-147. (in Japanese)

Kubo, Y., Mizuguchi, Y., Inagaki, F., et al. A new hybrid pressure-coring system for the drilling vessel Chikyu. Scientific Drilling, 2014, 17: 37-43.

Kvenvolden, K. A., Cameron, D. Pressure core barrel; application to the study of gas hydrates, Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 533, Leg 76. Initial Reports of the D.S.D.P., 1983, 76: 367-375.

Li, C., Xie, H., Gao, M., et al. Novel designs of pressure controllers to enhance the upper pressure limit for gas-hydrate-bearing sediment sampling. Energy, 2021, 227: 120405.

Liu, S., Wang, D., Yin, G., et al. Experimental study on the microstructure evolution laws in coal seam affected by temperature impact. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 2020, 53: 1359-1374.

Nagao, J., Yoneda, J., Konno, Y., et al. Development of the Pressure-core Nondestructive Analysis Tools (PNATs) for methane hydrate sedimentary cores. Paper 8345 Presented at Egu General Assembly Conference, Vienna, Austria, 12-17 April, 2015.

Peng, X., Li, X., Yang, S., et al. An innovative system of deep in situ environment reconstruction and core transfer. Applied Sciences, 2023, 13(11): 6534.

Peterson, M., N. A. Design and operation of a wireline pressure core barrel. Technical report. La Jolla, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information, 1984.

Priest, J. A., Druce, M., Roberts, J., et al. PCATS Triaxial: A new geotechnical apparatus for characterizing pressure cores from the Nankai Trough, Japan. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2015, 66: 460-470.

Santamarina, J. C., Dai, S., Jang, J., et al. Pressure core characterization tools for hydrate-bearing sediments. Scientific drilling, 2012, 14: 44-48.

Santamarina, J. C., Dai, S., Terzariol, M., et al. Hydro-bio-geomechanical properties of hydrate-bearing sediments from Nankai Trough. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2015, 66: 434-450.

Schultheiss, P., Holland, M., Roberts, J., et al. Advances in wireline pressure coring, core handling, and core analysis related to gas hydrate drilling investigations. Paper Presented at Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Gas Hydrates (ICGH 2017), Denver, Colorado, USA, 25-30 June, 2017.

Shi, X., Xie, H., Li, C., et al. Performance of a deep in situ pressure-preserving coring controller in a high-temperature and ultrahigh-pressure test system. Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, 2024, in press, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrmge.2024.01.012.

Tian, H., Kempka, T., Yu, S., et al. Mechanical properties of sandstones exposed to high temperature. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 2016, 49: 321-327.

Tomac, I., Sauter, M. A review on challenges in the assessment of geomechanical rock performance for deep geothermal reservoir development. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2018, 82: 3972-3980.

Xie, H., Hu, Y., Gao, M., et al. Research progress and application of deep in-situ condition preserved coring and testing. International Journal of Mining Science and Technology, 2023, 33(11): 1319-1337.

Xie, H., Liu, T., Chen, L., et al. Deep rock substance-preserved coring device and coring method. China. CN109403900A, 2018.

Xie, H., Liu, T., Gao, M., et al. Research on in-situ condition preserved coring and testing systems. Petroleum Science, 2021, 18(6): 1840-1859.

Xue, S., He, Z., Li, C., et al. Physical and mechanical properties of thermal insulation materials for in-situ temperature-preserved coring of deep rocks. Coal Geology & Exploration, 2023, 51(8): 30-38.

Yang, D., Zhao, Z., Wu, Y., et al. A graphene-enhanced high-barrier and fast-curing film for deep in situ condition preserved coring in coal seams. International Journal of Mining Science and Technology, 2023, 33(11): 1365-1376.

Yang, J., Chen, L., He, Z., et al. High-strength hollow glass microsphere/epoxy resin composite insulation materials for deep in-situ condition preserved coring. Geofluids, 2022a, 2022: 1118434.

Yang, Z., Zou, C., Gu, Z., et al. Geological characteristics and main challenges of onshore deep oil and gas development in China. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2022b, 6(3): 264-266.

Yoneda, J., Masui, A., Konno, Y., et al. Mechanical behavior of hydrate-bearing pressure-core sediments visualized under triaxial compression. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2015, 66: 451-459.

Yu, B., He, Z., Yang, J., et al. Innovative design of a conductive center pole for an active thermal insulation and coring system in deep rock. Applied Sciences, 2023, 13(3): 1242.

Zhang, P., Mishra, B., Heasley, K. A. Experimental investigation on the influence of high pressure and high temperature on the mechanical properties of deep reservoir rocks. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 2015, 48: 2197-2211.

Zhu, L., Liu, T., Zhao, Z., et al. Deep original information preservation by applying in-situ film formation technology during coring. Petroleum Science, 2022, 19(3): 1322-1333.