Microscopic experiment on efficient construction of underground gas storages converted from water-invaded gas reservoirs

Based on the microfluidic technology,a microscopic visualization model was used to simulate the gas injection process in the initial construction stage and the bottom water invasion/gas injection process in the cyclical injection-production stage of the underground gas storage(UGS)rebuilt from water-invaded gas reservoirs.Through analysis of the gas-liquid contact stabilization mechanism,flow and occurrence,the optimal control method for lifecycle efficient operation of UGS was explored.The results show that in the initial construction stage of UGS,the action of gravity should be fully utilized by regulating the gas injection rate,so as to ensure the macroscopically stable migration of the gas-liquid contact,and greatly improve the gas sweeping capacity,providing a large pore space for gas storage in the subsequent cyclical injection-production stage.In the cyclical injection-production stage of UGS,a constant gas storage and production rate leads to a low pore space utilization.Gradually increasing the gas storage and production rate,that is,transitioning from small volume to large volume,can continuously break the hydraulic equilibrium of the remaining fluid in the porous media,which then expands the pore space and flow channels.This is conducive to the expansion of UGS capacity and efficiency for purpose of peak shaving and supply guarantee.

Simulation study of hydrogen sulfide removal in underground gas storage converted from the multilayered sour gas field

A simulation study was carried out to investigate the temporal evolution of H_(2)S in the Huangcaoxia underground gas storage (UGS), which is converted from a depleted sulfur-containing gas field. Based on the rock and fluid properties of the Huangcaoxia gas field, a multilayered model was built. The upper layer Jia-2 contains a high concentration of H_(2)S (27.2 g/m^(3)), and the lower layer Jia-1 contains a low concentration of H_(2)S (14.0 mg/m^(3)). There is also a low-permeability interlayer between Jia-1 and Jia-2. The multi-component fluid characterizations for Jia-1 and Jia-2 were implemented separately using the Peng-Robinson equation of state in order to perform the compositional simulation. The H_(2)S concentration gradually increased in a single cycle and peaked at the end of the production season. The peak H_(2)S concentration in each cycle showed a decreasing trend when the recovery factor (RF) of the gas field was lower than 70%. When the RF was above 70%, the peak H_(2)S concentration increased first and then decreased. A higher reservoir RF, a higher maximum working pressure, and a higher working gas ratio will lead to a higher H_(2)S removal efficiency. Similar to developing multi-layered petroleum fields, the operation of multilayered gas storage can also be divided into multi-layer commingled operation and independent operation for different layers. When the two layers are combined to build the storage, the sweet gas produced from Jia-1 can spontaneously mix with the sour gas produced from Jia-2 within the wellbore, which can significantly reduce the overall H_(2)S concentration in the wellstream. When the working gas volume is set constant, the allocation ratio between the two layers has little effect on the H_(2)S removal. After nine cycles, the produced gas’s H_(2)S concentration can be lowered to 20 mg/m^(3). Our study recommends combining the Jia-2 and Jia-1 layers to build the Huangcaoxia underground gas storage. This plan can quickly reduce the H_(2)S concentration of the produced gas to 20 mg/m^(3), thus meeting the gas export standards as well as the HSE (Health, Safety, and Environment) requirements in the field. This study helps the engineers understand the H_(2)S removal for sulfur-containing UGS as well as provides technical guidelines for converting other multilayered sour gas fields into underground storage sites.

Mineralogy,microstructures and geomechanics of rock salt for underground gas storage

Rock salt has excellent properties for its use as underground leak‐proof containers for the storage of renewable energy.Salt solution mining has long been used for salt mining,and can now be employed in the construction of underground salt caverns for the storage of hydrogen gas.This paper presents a wide range of methods to study the mineralogy,geochemistry,microstructure and geomechanical characteristics of rock salt,which are important in the engineering of safe underground storage rock salt caverns.The mineralogical composition of rock salt varies and is linked to its depositional environment and diagenetic alterations.The microstructure in rock salt is related to cataclastic deformation,diffusive mass transfer and intracrystalline plastic deformation,which can then be associated with the macrostructural geomechanical behavior.Compared to other types of rock,rock salt exhibits creep at lower temperatures.This behavior can be divided into three phases based on the changes in strain with time.However,at very low effective confining pressure and high deviatoric stress,rock salt can exhibit dilatant behavior,where brittle deformation could compromise the safety of underground gas storage in rock salt caverns.The proposed review presents the impact of purity,geochemistry and water content of rock salt on its geomechanical behavior,and thus,on the safety of the caverns.

“Extreme utilization” theory and practice in gas storages with complex geological conditions

Based on more than 20-year operation of gas storages with complex geological conditions and a series of research findings, the pressure-bearing dynamics mechanism of geological body is revealed. With the discovery of gas-water flowing law of multi-cycle relative permeability hysteresis and differential utilization in zones, the extreme utilization theory targeting at the maximum amount of stored gas, maximum injection-production capacity and maximum efficiency in space utilization is proposed to support the three-in-one evaluation method of the maximum pressure-bearing capacity of geological body, maximum well production capacity and maximum peak shaving capacity of storage space. This study realizes the full potential of gas storage(storage capacity) at maximum pressure, maximum formation-wellbore coordinate production, optimum well spacing density match with finite-time unsteady flow, and peaking shaving capacity at minimum pressure, achieving perfect balance between security and capacity. Operation in gas storages, such as Hutubi in Xinjiang, Xiangguosi in Xinan, and Shuang6 in Liaohe, proves that extreme utilization theory has promoted high quality development of gas storages in China.

Integrated construction technology for natural gas gravity drive and underground gas storage

Based on the mechanisms of gravity displacement,miscibility,viscosity reduction,and imbibition in natural gas flooding,an integrated reservoir construction technology of oil displacement and underground gas storage(UGS)is proposed.This paper systemically describes the technical connotation,site selection principle and optimization process of operation parameters of the gas storage,and advantages of this technology.By making full use of the gravity displacement,miscibility,viscosity reduction,and imbibition features of natural gas flooding,the natural gas can be injected into oil reservoir to enhance oil recovery and build strategic gas storage at the same time,realizing the win-win situation of oil production and natural gas peak shaving.Compared with the gas reservoir storage,the integrated construction technology of gas storage has two profit models:increasing crude oil production and gas storage transfer fee,so it has better economic benefit.At the same time,in this kind of gas storage,gas is injected at high pressure in the initial stage of its construction,gas is injected and produced in small volume in the initial operation stage,and then in large volume in the middle and late operation stage.In this way,the gas storage wouldn’t have drastic changes in stress periodically,overcoming the shortcomings of large stress variations of gas reservoir storage during injection-production cycle due to large gas injection and production volume.The keys of this technology are site selection and evaluation of oil reservoir,and optimization of gravity displacement,displacement pressure,and gas storage operation parameters,etc.The pilot test shows that the technology has achieved initial success,which is a new idea for the rapid development of UGS construction in China.

Stress sensitivity of formation during multi-cycle gas injection and production in an underground gas storage rebuilt from gas reservoirs

Permeability sensitivity to stress experiments were conducted on standard core samples taken from Wen 23 Gas Storage at multi-cycle injection and production conditions of the gas storage to study the change pattern of stress sensitivity of permeability.A method for calculating permeability under overburden pressure in the multi-cycle injection and production process was proposed,and the effect of stress sensitivity of reservoir permeability on gas well injectivity and productivity in UGS was analyzed.Retention rate of permeability decreased sharply first and then slowly with the increase of the UGS cycles.The stress sensitivity index of permeability decreased with the increase of cycle number of net stress variations in the increase process of net stress.The stress sensitivity index of permeability hardly changed with the increase of cycle number of net stress variations in the decrease process of net stress.With the increase of cycle number of net stress variation,the stress sensitivity index of permeability in the increase process of net stress approached that in the decrease process of net stress.The lower the reservoir permeability,the greater the irreversible permeability loss rate,the stronger the cyclic stress sensitivity,and the higher the stress sensitivity index of the reservoir,the stronger the reservoir stress sensitivity.The gas zones with permeability lower than 0.3’10-3 mm2 are not suitable as gas storage regions.Stress sensitivity of reservoir permeability has strong impact on gas well injectivity and productivity and mainly in the first few cycles.

Simulation of pore space production law and capacity expansion mechanism of underground gas storage

One-dimensional gas injection storage building and one-cycle injection-production modeling experiment,and two-dimensional flat core storage building and multi-cycle injection-production modeling experiment were carried out using one-dimensional long core and large two-dimensional flat physical models to find out the effects of reservoir physical properties and injection-production balance time on reservoir pore utilization efficiency,effective reservoir capacity formation and capacity-reaching cycle.The results show that reservoir physical properties and formation water saturation are the main factors affecting the construction and operation of gas-reservoir type underground gas storage.During the construction and operation of gas-reservoir type gas storage,the reservoir space can be divided into three types of working zones:high efficiency,low efficiency and ineffective ones.The higher the reservoir permeability,the higher the pore utilization efficiency is,the smaller the ineffective working zone is,or there is no ineffective working zone;the smaller the loss of injected gas is,and the higher the utilization rate of pores is.The better the reservoir physical properties,the larger the reservoir space and the larger the final gas storage capacity is.The higher the water saturation of the reservoir,the more the gas loss during gas storage capacity building and operation is.Optimizing injection-production regime to discharge water and reduce water saturation is an effective way to reduce gas loss in gas storage.In the process of multiple cycles of injection and production,there is a reasonable injection-production balance time,further extending the injection-production balance period after reaching the reasonable time has little contribution to the expansion of gas storage capacity.

RECENT ADVANCES IN HYDRATE-BASED TECHNOLOGIES FOR NATURAL GAS STORAGE——A REVIEW

Interest in the possibility of storing and transporting natural gas in the form of clathrate hydrates has been increasing in recent years, particularly in some gas-importing and exporting countries.The technologies necessary for realizing this possibility may be classified into those relevant to the four serial processes (a) the formation of a hydrate, (b) the processing (dewatering, pelletizing, etc. ) of the formed hydrate, (c) the storage and transportation of the processed hydrate, and (d) the regasification (dissociation) of the hydrate. The technological development of any of these processes is still at an early stage. For hydrate formation, for example, various rival operations have been proposed. However,many of them have never been subjected to actual tests for practical use. More efforts are required for examining the different hydrate-formation technologies and for rating them by comparison. The general design of the processing of the formed hydrate inevitably depends on both the hydrate-formation process and the storage/transportation process, hence it has a wide variability. The major uncertainty in the storage-process design lies in the as-yet unclarified utility of the "self-preservation" effect of the naturalgas hydrates. The process design as well as the relevant cost evaluation should strongly depend on whether the hydrates are well preserved at atmospheric pressure in large-scale storage facilities. The regasification process has been studied less extensively than the former processes. The state of the art of the technological development in each of the serial processes is reviewed, placing emphasis on the hydrate formation process.

Mechanism of gas-water flow at pore-level in aquifer gas storage

By means of the pore-level simulation, the characteristics of gas-water flow and gas-water distribution during the alternative displacement of gas and water were observed directly from etched-glass micromodel. The results show that gas-water distribution styles are divided into continuous phase type and separate phase type. The water lock exists in pore and throat during the process of gas-water displacement, and it reduces the gas flow-rate and has some effects on the recovery efficiency during the operation of gas storage. According to the experimental results of aquifer gas storage in X area, the differences in available extent among reservoirs are significant, and the availability of pore space is 33% 45%.

Investigation on Gas Storage in Methane Hydrate

The effect of additives (anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), nonionic surfactant alkyl polysaccharide glycoside (APG), and liquid hydrocarbon cyclopentane (CP)) on hydrate induction time and formation rate, and storage capacity was studied in this work. Micelle surfactant solutions were found to reduce hydrate induction time, increase methane hydrate formation rate and improve methane storage capacity in hydrates. In the presence of surfactant, hydrate could form quickly in a quiescent system and the energy costs of hydrate formation were reduced. The critical micelle concentrations of SDS and APG water solutions were found to be 300×10-6 and 500×10-6 for methane hydrate formation system respectively. The effect of anionic surfactant (SDS) on methane storage in hydrates is more pronounced compared to a nonionic surfactant (APG). CP also reduced hydrate induction time and improved hydrate formation rate, but could not improve methane storage in hydrates.

Investigation of flue gas water-alternating gas (flue gas–WAG) injection for enhanced oil recovery and multicomponent flue gas storage in the post-waterflooding reservoir

Flue gas fooding is one of the important technologies to improve oil recovery and achieve greenhouse gas storage.In order to study multicomponent fue gas storage capacity and enhanced oil recovery(EOR)performance of fue gas water-alternating gas(fue gas-WAG)injection after continuous waterfooding in an oil reservoir,a long core fooding system was built.The experimental results showed that the oil recovery factor of fue gas-WAG fooding was increased by 21.25%after continuous waterfooding and fue gas-WAG fooding could further enhance oil recovery and reduce water cut signifcantly.A novel material balance model based on storage mechanism was developed to estimate the multicomponent fue gas storage capacity and storage capacity of each component of fue gas in reservoir oil,water and as free gas in the post-waterfooding reservoir.The ultimate storage ratio of fue gas is 16%in the fue gas-WAG fooding process.The calculation results of fue gas storage capacity showed that the injection gas storage capacity mainly consists of N_(2) and CO_(2),only N_(2) exists as free gas phase in cores,and other components of injection gas are dissolved in oil and water.Finally,injection strategies from three perspectives for fue gas storage,EOR,and combination of fue gas storage and EOR were proposed,respectively.

Theoretical research on gas seepage in the formations surrounding bedded gas storage salt cavern

When constructing salt cavern gas or petroleum storage in lacustrine sedimentary salt formations rich in mudstone interlayers, the influence of the sealing performance of interlayers and salt-mud interface on the storage tightness should be considered adequately. In order to reveal the gas seepage in deep formations surrounding bedded salt cavern underground storage, a leakage analysis model was established based on the characteristics of a low dip angle and the interbedded structure of bedded rock salt. The gas seepage governing equations for one-dimensional and plane radial flow were derived and solved. A gas seepage simulation experiment was conducted to demonstrate the accuracy and reliability of the theoretical calculation results. The error of the seepage range was approximately 6.70%, which is acceptable. The analysis and calculation results indicate that the motion equation of gas in deep formations satisfies a non-Darcy's law with a threshold pressure gradient and slippage effect. The sufficient condition for the gas flow to stop is that the pressure gradient is equal to the threshold pressure gradient.The relationship between the leakage range and operating time is a positive power function, that is, the leakage range gradually increases with time and eventually stabilizes. As the seepage range increases, the seepage pressure decreases sharply during the early stage, and then decreases gradually until the flow stops.Combining the research results with engineering applications, three quantitative evaluation indexes named the maximum admissible leakage range, leakage volume and leakage rate are proposed for the tightness evaluation of gas storage salt cavern during their operating stage. These indexes can be used directly in actual engineering applications and can be compared with the key design parameters stipulated in the relevant specifications. This work is expected to provide theoretical and technical support for the gas loss and tightness evaluation of gas storage salt caverns.

Deployment and Exploration of a Gas Storage Well Pattern Based on the Threshold Radius

To tackle the problem that wells that are deployed in a specific pattern based on the requirements of gas reservoir development are not suitable for gas storage,we have conducted concentrically circular injection and production simulation experiments for gas storage,discovered the existence of a threshold radius,denoted by Rt,and derived the expression for Rt.Based on the analysis and discussion results,we propose a strategy for deploying gas storage wells in specific patterns.The expression for Rt shows that it is affected by factors such as the gas storage gas production/injection time,the upper pressure limit,the lower pressure limit,the bottomhole flow pressure at the ends of injection and production,the and permeability.The analysis and discussion results show that the Rt of a gas storage facility is much smaller than the Rt for gas reservoir development.In the gas storage facilities in China,the Rt for gas production is less than the Rt for the gas injection,and Rt increases with the difference in the operating pressure and with permeability K.Based on the characteristics of Rt,we propose three suggestions for gas storage well pattern deployment:(1)calculate Rt according to the designed functions of the gas storage facility and deploy the well pattern according to Rt;(2)deploy sparser,large-wellbore patterns in high-permeability areas and denser,small-wellbore patterns in high-permeability areas;and(3)achieve the gas injection well pattern by new drilling,and the gas production well pattern through a combination of the gas injection well pattern and old wells.By assessing a gas storage facility with a perfect well pattern after a number of adjustments,we found that the Rt of the 12 wells calculated in this paper is basically close to the corresponding actual radius,which validates our method.The results of this study provide a methodological basis for well pattern deployment in new gas storage construction.

Influence of hysteretic stress path behavior on seal integrity during gas storage operation in a depleted reservoir

In this study,we numerically investigate the influence of hysteretic stress path behavior on the seal integrity during underground gas storage operations in a depleted reservoir.Our study area is the Honor Rancho Underground Storage Facility in Los Angeles County(California,USA),which was converted into an underground gas storage facility in 1975 after 20 years of oil and gas production.In our simulations,the geomechanical behavior of the sand reservoir is modeled using two models:(1)a linear elastic model(non-hysteretic stress path)that does not take into consideration irreversible deformation,and(2)a plastic cap mechanical model which considers changes in rock elastic properties due to irreversible deformations caused by plastic reservoir compaction(hysteretic stress path).It shows that the irreversible compaction of the geological layer over geologic time and during the reservoir depletion can have important consequences on stress tensor orientation and magnitude.Ignoring depletion-induced irreversible compaction can lead to an over-estimation of the calculation of the maximum working reservoir pressure.Moreover,this irreversible compaction may bring the nearby faults closer to reactivation.However,regardless of the two models applied,the geomechanical analysis shows that for the estimated stress conditions applied in this study,the Honor Rancho Underground Storage Facility is being safely operated at pressures much below what would be required to compromise the seal integrity.

Experimental study on repair characteristics of damaged rock salt of underground gas storage

Damage in rock salt has significant implication on permeability, which affects the tightness of underground salt cavern gas storage in further. During the leaching of a salt cavern, the brine with formation temperature and pressure can promote the self-healing of rock salt in the excavation damage zone (EDZ). Laboratory tests were conducted to study the promoting effect. The permeability of two intact rock salt specimens was tested. Then they were damaged into two kinds of the state respectively through uniaxial compression. After that, they were put in saturated brine (with a temperature of 50℃ and pressure of 12 MPa, which we called the repair environment in this paper) for 7 d. Finally, the permeability and mechanical properties were obtained after the damaged specimens being repaired. The results show that the permeability of intact rock salt is below 10^-19 m^2;the permeability increases by more than two orders because of damage;the permeability decreases significantly after being repaired, which can be comparable to its intact state. Discussions of the repair mechanisms are presented (especially the mechanism of recrystallization), which may help to provide significant guidance for the study of the tightness and stability of gas storage facilities in China.

Numerical Simulation and Analysis of Migration Law of Gas Mixture Using Carbon Dioxide as Cushion Gas in Underground Gas Storage Reservoir

One of the major technical challenges in using carbon dioxide( CO2) as part of the cushion gas of the underground gas storage reservoir( UGSR) is the mixture of CO2and natural gas. To decrease the mixing extent and manage the migration of the mixed zone,an understanding of the mechanism of CO2and natural gas mixing and the diffusion of the mixed gas in aquifer is necessary. In this paper,a numerical model based on the three dimensional gas-water two-phase flow theory and gas diffusion theory is developed to understand this mechanism. This model is validated by the actual operational data in Dazhangtuo UGSR in Tianjin City,China.Using the validated model,the mixed characteristic of CO2and natural gas and the migration mechanism of the mixed zone in an underground porous reservoir is further studied. Particularly,the impacts of the following factors on the migration mechanism are studied: the ratio of CO2injection,the reservoir porosity and the initial operating pressure. Based on the results,the optimal CO2injection ratio and an optimal control strategy to manage the migration of the mixed zone are obtained. These results provide technical guides for using CO2as cushion gas for UGSR in real projects.

Attenuating water hammer pressure by means of gas storage tank

The basic equations for computing the volume of gas storage tank were derived from the principles of attenuating water hammer pressure. Verifications using experiments indicate that the proposed equation can provide a fare precision in the predictions. By using the model of solid liquid two phase flow, the gas storage tank, pressure relief valves and slow closure reverse control valves were compared with practical engineering problems, and the functions of gas storage tank in attenuating water hammer pressure were further investigated. [

Dynamic simulation research on injection and withdrawal performance of underground salt cavern natural gas storage

Owing to perfect impermeability,dynamics stability,flexible and efficient operation mode and strong adjustment,underground salt cavern natural gas storage is especially adapted to be used for short-term dispatch.Based on characteristics of gas flow and heat transfer,dynamic mathematic models were built to simulate the injection and withdrawal performance of underground salt cavern gas storage.Temperature and pressure variations of natural gas in gas storage were simulated on the basis of building models during withdrawal operation,and factors affecting on the operation of gas storage were also analyzed.Therefore,these models can provide theore-tic foundation and technology support for the design,building and operation of salt cavern gas storage.

Change of phase state during multi-cycle injection and production process of condensate gas reservoir based underground gas storage

Based on the differences in production mode and operation process between gas storage and gas reservoir,we established a phase balance test procedure and a theoretical simulation model of phase balance during multi-cycles of injection and production of underground gas storage(UGS)rebuilt from condensate gas reservoir to study the phase characteristics of produced and remaining fluids during multi-cycles of injection and production.Take condensate reservoir gas storage as example,the composition of produced fluid and remaining fluid,phase state of remaining fluid,retrograde condensate saturation and condensate recovery degree in the process of multi-cycles of injection-production were studied through multi-cycle injection-production experiment and phase equilibrium theory simulation.The injected gas could greatly improve the recovery of condensate oil in the gas reservoir,and the condensate oil recovery increased by 42% after 5 cycles of injection and production;the injected gas had significant evaporative and extraction effects on the condensate,especially during the first two cycles;the condensate oil saturation of the formation decreased with the increase of injection-production cycles,and the condensate oil saturation after multi-cycles of injection-production was almost 0;the storage capacity increased by about 7.5% after multi-cycles of injection and production,and the cumulative gas injection volume in the 5 th cycle increased by about 25%compared with that in the 1 st cycle.

Mechanism of Surface Vertical Deformation in Parts of the Underground Gas Storage Reservoir of Hutubi, Xinjiang, China

The Underground Gas Storage( UGS) in Hutubi( HTB),Xinjiang is the largest gas storage reservoir in China and it has significance for coordinating the gas supply and demand relationship,peak-load regulation,implementation of strategic reserves,national security, and social economic sustainable development. Therefore, the deformation monitoring and simulation analysis of UGS operation has important technical support and reference value for the stability and safe operation of the underground gas storage. In this paper,we use the elevation data obtained from 7 periods of second-order leveling surveys in the Hutubi underground gas storage area in 2013- 2015 to analyze the influence of gas well pressure on the vertical deformation of the underground gas storage reservoir.Research has shown that the absolute vertical subsidence rate is approximately in the range from 11. 8mm to 16. 1mm and the relative subsidence change is about 4. 3mm,near the surface deformation of Hutubi underground gas storage area except for the annual subsidence rate of- 2. 86 mm by the basic influence of uplift of the Tianshan Mountains.Groundwater over-extraction in the Hutubi area also has an impact on the vertical variation of the surface in this region. The land surface change per unit pressure of gas storage has an impact of about 0. 625mm- 1. 125 mm. 17 scenes Terra SAR-X radar images acquired from August,2013 to August,2014 are exploited by Small Baseline Subset( SBAS) In SAR method to obtain the surface deformation time series during the operation of UGS in Hutubi,meanwhile combined with the pressure data of injection / productionwells,the multi-point source Mogi model is used to simulate the UGS deformation field in Hutubi. The results show that the deformation characteristics of the whole UGS area is a discontinuous distribution with the peak deformation value of 10 mm and- 8mm in the satellite line of sight( LOS) during gas injection and production,respectively and the retrieved deformation sequences correspond very well to the gas injection / production pressure changes. Based on the multi- point source Mogi model, we simulate the deformation process of UGS,HTB,and with the adaptive forward search method,the radius and depth of point source are obtained. The simulated results indicate that when the average injection / production pressure of UGS,HTB is 18 MPa and 15 MPa, LOS deformation is up to 7mm and- 4mm,respectively,and surface deformation is related to the density of gas injection( production) wells. The UGS gas distribution is not uniform,indicating that the structure of underground gas storage is complex. Thus using a more elaborate geomechanical model and other deformation observation data will be helpful for better simulating the UGS internal structure and explaining the mechanism of deformation.