Geologic and Engineering Controls on the Energy Resource Potential of Gas Hydrates

Author: T. Collett

Venue: India Eight International Petroleum Conference and Exhibition (PETROTECH-2009) (January 11-15, 2009), New Delhi, India. http://petrotech2009.org/ [external site]

Abstract: It is generally accepted that the amount of gas in the world’s gas hydrate accumulations exceed the volume of known conventional gas resources. Researchers have long speculated that gas hydrates could eventually be a commercial producible energy resource yet technical and economic hurdles have historically made gas hydrate development a distant goal rather than a near-term possibility. This view began to change in recent years with the realization that this unconventional resource could possibly be developed with existing conventional oil and gas production technology. The most significant development was gas hydrate production testing conducted at the Mallik site in Canada’s Mackenzie Delta in 2002. The Mallik 2002 Gas Hydrate Production Research Well Program yielded the first modern, fully integrated field study and production test of a natural gas hydrate accumulation. More recently, BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. with the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Geological Survey have successfully cored, logged, and tested a gas hydrate accumulation on the North Slope of Alaska known as the Mount Elbert Prospect. The Mallik 2002 project along with the Mount Elbert effort has for the first time allowed the rational assessment of the production response of a gas hydrate accumulation. In addition to the gas hydrate production tests in Canada and the U.S., marine gas hydrate research drilling, coring, and logging expeditions launched by the National gas hydrate programs in Japan, India, China, and Taiwan have also contributed significantly to our understanding of how gas hydrates occur in nature and provided a much deeper appreciation of the geologic controls on the occurrence of gas hydrates. With an increasing number of highly successful gas hydrate field studies, significant progress has been made in addressing some of the key issues on the formation, occurrence, and stability of gas hydrates in nature. This report deals with the assessment of the geologic and engineering factors that control the ultimate resource potential of gas hydrates. This assessment will be conducted mainly though examination of several of the more successful International gas hydrate research efforts.

Related NETL Project
This presentation is related to the NETL project AI26-05NT42496, “Methane Hydrate Related Research and Support”. The purpose of this project is to conduct scientific studies of natural gas hydrates to support DOE efforts to evaluate and understand methane hydrates, their potential as an energy resource, and the hazard they may pose to ongoing drilling efforts.

Project Contacts
NETL – Robert Vagnetti (robert.vagnetti@netl.doe.gov or 304-285-1334)
U.S. Geological Survey– Deborah Hutchinson (dhutchinson@usgs.gov or (508- 457-2263)