Application of the monitoring and early warning system for internal solitary waves:Take the second natural gas hydrates production test in the South China Sea as an example

Internal solitary waves(ISWs) contain great energy and have the characteristics of emergency and concealment. To avoid their damage to offshore engineering, a new generation of monitoring and early warning system for ISWs was developed using technologies of double buoys monitoring, intelligent realtime data transmission, and automatic software identification. The system was applied to the second natural gas hydrates(NGHs) production test in the Shenhu Area, South China Sea(SCS) and successfully provided the early warning of ISWs for 173 days(from October 2019 to April 2020). The abrupt changes in the thrust force of the drilling platform under the attack of ISWs were consistent with the early warning information, proving the reliability of this system. A total of 93 ISWs were detected around the drilling platform. Most of them occurred during the spring tides in October–December 2019 and April 2020, while few of them occurred in winter. As suggested by the theoretical model, the full-depth structure of ISWs was a typical current profile of mode-1, and the velocities of wave-induced currents can reach 80 cm/s and30 cm/s, respectively, in the upper ocean and near the seabed. The ISWs may be primarily generated from the interactions between the topography and semidiurnal tides in the Luzon Strait, and then propagate westward to the drilling platform. This study could serve as an important reference for the early warning of ISWs for offshore engineering construction in the future.

The first offshore natural gas hydrate production test in South China Sea

Natural gas hydrates (NGH)is one of key future clean energy resources.Its industrialized development will help remit the huge demand of global natural gas,relieve the increasing pressure of the environment, and play a vital role in the green sustainable growth of human societies.Based on nearly two decades' studying on the reservoir characteristics in the South China Sea (SCS)and the knowledge of reservoir system,the China Geological Survey (CGS)conducted the first production test on an optimal target selected in Shenhu area SCS in 2017.Guided by the "three-phase control"exploitation theory which focused on formation stabilization,technologies such as formation fluid extraction,well drilling and completing, reservoir stimulating,sand controlling,environmental monitoring,monitoring and preventing of secondary formation of hydrates were applied.The test lasted for 60 days from May 10^th when starting to pump, drop pressure and ignite to well killing on July 9^th,with gas production of 3.09×10^5 m^3 in total,which is a world record with the longest continuous duration of gas production and maximal gas yield.This successful test brings a significant breakthrough on safety control of NGH production.

Assessment of natural gas hydrate reservoirs at Site GMGS3-W19 in the Shenhu area,South China Sea based on various well logs

To obtain the characteristics of the gas hydrate reservoirs at GMGS3-W19,extensive geophysical logging data and cores were analyzed to assess the reservoir properties.Sediment porosities were estimated from density,neutron,and nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)logs.Both the resistivity and NMR logs were used to calculate gas hydrate saturations,the Simandoux model was employed to eliminate the effects of high clay content determined based on the ECS and core data.The density porosity was closely in agreement with the core-derived porosity,and the neutron porosity was higher while the NMR porosity was lower than the density porosity of sediments without hydrates.The resistivity log has higher vertical resolution than the NMR log and thus is more favorable for assessing gas hydrate saturation with strong heterogeneity.For the gas hydrate reservoirs at GMGS3-W19,the porosity,gas hydrate saturation and free gas saturation was 52.7%,42.7%and 10%,on average,respectively.The various logs provide different methods for the comprehensive evaluation of hydrate reservoir,which supports the selection of candidate site for gas hydrate production testing.

Diapir structure and its constraint on gas hydrate accumulation in the Makran accretionary prism, offshore Pakistan

The Makran accretionary prism is located at the junction of the Eurasian Plate,Arabian Plate and Indian Plate and is rich in natural gas hydrate(NGH)resources.It consists of a narrow continental shelf,a broad continental slope,and a deformation front.The continental slope can be further divided into the upper slope,middle slope,and lower slope.There are three types of diapir structure in the accretionary prism,namely mud diapir,mud volcano,and gas chimney.(1)The mud diapirs can be grouped into two types,namely the ones with low arching amplitude and weak-medium activity energy and the ones with high arching amplitude and medium-strong activity energy.The mud diapirs increase from offshore areas towards onshore areas in general,while the ones favorable for the formation of NGH are mainly distributed on the middle slope in the central and western parts of the accretionary prism.(2)The mud volcanoes are mainly concentrated along the anticline ridges in the southern part of the lower slope and the deformation front.(3)The gas chimneys can be grouped into three types,which are located in piggyback basins,active anticline ridges,and inactive anticline ridges,respectively.They are mainly distributed on the middle slope in the central and western parts of the accretionary prism and most of them are accompanied with thrust faults.The gas chimneys located at different tectonic locations started to be active at different time and pierced different horizons.The mud diapirs,mud volcanoes,and gas chimneys and thrust faults serve as the main pathways of gas migration,and thus are the important factors that control the formation,accumulation,and distribution of NGH in the Makran accretionary prism.Mud diapir/gas chimney type hydrate develop in the middle slope,mud volcano type hydrate develop in the southern lower slope and the deformation front,and stepped accretionary prism type hydrate develop on the central and northern lower slope.The middle slope,lower slope and deformation front in the central and western parts of the Makran accretionary prism jointly constitute the NGH prospect area.

Stability analysis of seabed strata and casing structure during the natural gas hydrates exploitation by depressurization in horizontal wells in South China Sea

Natural gas hydrates(NGHs)are a new type of clean energy with great development potential.However,it is urgent to achieve safe and economical NGHs development and utilization.This study established a physical model of the study area using the FLAC^(3D) software based on the key parameters of the NGHs production test area in the South China Sea,including the depressurization method,and mechanical parameters of strata,NGHs occurrence characteristics,and the technological characteristics of horizontal wells.Moreover,this study explored the law of influences of the NGHs dissociation range on the stability of the overburden strata and the casing structure of a horizontal well.The results are as follows.With the dissociation of NGHs,the overburden strata of the NGHs dissociation zone subsided and formed funnelshaped zones and then gradually stabilized.However,the upper interface of the NGHs dissociation zone showed significant redistribution and discontinuity of stress.Specifically,distinct stress concentration and corresponding large deformation occurred in the build-up section of the horizontal well,which was thus prone to suffering shear failure.Moreover,apparent end effects occurred at the end of the horizontal well section and might cause the deformation and failure of the casing structure.Therefore,it is necessary to take measures in the build-up section and at the end of the horizontal section of the horizontal well to prevent damage and ensure the wellbore safety in the long-term NGHs exploitation.

Gas Sources for Natural Gas Hydrates in the Permafrost Region of the Qilian Mountains

Objective As a new type of gas hydrates,the natural gas hydrates in the perfost region of the Qilian Mountains are characterized by their shallow burial depth,welldeveloped coal seam,high content of heavy hydrocarbons and multiple sets of mature and over-mature source rocks.Gas sources of these gas hydrates in the study area include coal-type gas and oil-type gas.

Lateral bearing characteristics of subsea wellhead assembly in the hydrate trial production engineering

Conductor and suction anchor are the key equipment providing bearing capacity in the field of deep-water drilling or offshore engineering,which have the advantages of high operation efficiency and short construction period.In order to drill a horizontal well in the shallow hydrate reservoir in the deep water,the suction anchor wellhead assembly is employed to undertake the main vertical bearing capacity in the second round of hydrate trial production project,so as to reduce the conductor running depth and heighten the kick-off point position.However,the deformation law of the deep-water suction anchor wellhead assembly under the moving load of the riser is not clear,and it is necessary to understand the lateral bearing characteristics to guide the design of its structural scheme.Based on 3D solid finite element method,the solid finite element model of the suction anchor wellhead assembly is established.In the model,the seabed soil is divided into seven layers,the contact between the wellhead assembly and the soil is simulated,and the vertical load and bending moment are applied to the wellhead node to simulate the riser movement when working in the deep water.The lateral bearing stability of conventional wellhead assembly and suction anchor wellhead assembly under the influence of wellhead load is discussed.The analysis results show that the bending moment is the main factor affecting the lateral deformation of the wellhead string;the anti-bending performance from increasing the outer conductor diameter is better than that from increasing the conductor wall thickness;for the subsea wellhead,the suction anchor obviously improves the lateral bearing capacity and reduces the lateral deformation.The conduct of the suction anchor wellhead assembly still needs to be lowered to a certain depth that below the maximum disturbed depth to ensure the lateral bearing stability,Thus,a method for the minimum conductor running depth for the suction anchor wellhead assembly is developed.The field implementations show that compared with the first round of hydrate trial production project,the conductor running depth is increased by 9.42 m,and there is no risk of wellhead overturning during the trial production.The method for determining the minimum conductor running depth in this paper is feasible and will still play an important role in the subsequent hydrate exploration and development.

Dissociation of gas hydrates by hydrocarbon migration and accumulation-derived slope failures:An example from the South China Sea

The mechanism of slope failure associated with overpressure that is caused by hydrocarbon migration and accumulation remains unclear.High-resolution seismic data and gas hydrate drilling data collected from the Shenhu gas hydrate field(site SH5)offer a valuable opportunity to study the relations between submarine slope failure and hydrocarbon accumulation and flow that is associated with a~2 kmdiameter gas chimney developed beneath site SH5 where none gas hydrates had been recovered by drilling and sampling despite the presence of distinct bottom simulating reflectors(BSRs)and favorable gas hydrate indication.The mechanism of submarine slope failure resulted from buoyancy extrusion and seepage-derived deformation which were caused by overpressure from a~1100 m-high gas column in a gas chimney was studied via numerical simulation.The~9.55 MPa overpressure caused by hydrocarbons that migrated through the gas chimney and then accumulated beneath subsurface gas hydratebearing impermeable sediments.This may have resulted in a submarine slope failure,which disequilibrated the gas hydrate-bearing zone and completely decomposed the gas hydrate once precipitated at site SH5.Before the gas hydrate decomposition,the largely impermeable sediments overlying the gas chimney may have undergone a major upward deformation due to the buoyancy extrusion of the overpressure in the gas chimney,and slope failure was initiated from plastic strain of the sediments and reduced internal strength.Slope failure subsequently resulted in partial gas hydrate decomposition and sediment permeability increase.The pressurized gas in the gas chimney may have diffused into the overlying sediments controlled by seepage-derived deformation,causing an effective stress reduction at the base of the sediments and significant plastic deformation.This may have formed a new cycle of submarine slope failure and finally the total gas hydrate dissociation.The modeling results of buoyancy extrusion and seepage-derived deformation of the overpressure in the gas chimney would provide new understanding in the development of submarine slope failure and the link between slope failure and gas hydrate accumulation and dissociation.

Velocity-porosity relationships in hydrate-bearing sediments measured from pressure cores,Shenhu Area,South China Sea

Evaluating velocity-porosity relationships of hydrate-bearing marine sediments is essential for characterizing natural gas hydrates below seafloor as either a potential energy resource or geohazards risks.Four sites had cored using pressure and non-pressure methods during the gas hydrates drilling project(GMGS4)expedition at Shenhu Area,north slope of the South China Sea.Sediments were cored above,below,and through the gas-hydrate-bearing zone guided with logging-while-drilling analysis results.Gamma density and P-wave velocity were measured in each pressure core before subsampling.Methane hydrates volumes in total 62 samples were calculated from the moles of excess methane collected during depressurization experiments.The concentration of methane hydrates ranged from 0.3%to 32.3%.The concentrations of pore fluid(25.44%to 68.82%)and sediments(23.63%to 54.28%)were calculated from the gamma density.The regression models of P-wave velocity were derived and compared with a global empirical equation derived from shallow,unconsolidated sediments data.The results were close to the global trend when the fluid concentration is larger than the critical porosity.It is concluded that the dominant factor of P-wave velocity in hydrate-bearing marine sediments is the presence of the hydrate.Methane hydrates can reduce the fluid concentration by discharging the pore fluid and occupying the original pore space of sediments after its formation.

Evaluation of clayed silt properties on the behavior of hydrate production in South China Sea

Gas hydrate is one kind of potential energy resources that is buried under deep seafloor or frozen areas.The first trial offshore production from the silty reservoir was conducted in the South China Sea by the China Geological Survey(CGS).During this test,there were many unique characteristics different from the sand reservoir,which was believed to be related to the clayed silt physical properties.In this paper,simulation experiments,facilities analysis,and theoretical calculation were used to confirm the hydrate structure,reservoir thermo-physical property,and bond water movement rule.And the behavior of how they affected production efficiency was analyzed.The results showed that:It was reasonable to use the structure I rather than structure II methane hydrate phase equilibrium data to make the production plan;the dissociation heat absorbed by hydrate was large enough to cause hydrate self-protection or reformation depend on the reservoir thermal transfer and gas supply;clayed silt got better thermal conductivity compared to coarse grain,but poor thermal convection especially with hydrate;clayed silt sediment was easy to bond water,but the irreducible water can be exchanged to free water under high production pressure,and the most obvious pressure range of water increment was 1.9–4.9 MPa.

Identification of functionally active aerobic methanotrophs and their methane oxidation potential in sediments from the Shenhu Area,South China Sea

Large amounts of gas hydrate are distributed in the northern slope of the South China Sea,which is a potential threat of methane leakage.Aerobic methane oxidation by methanotrophs,significant methane biotransformation that occurs in sediment surface and water column,can effectively reduce atmospheric emission of hydrate-decomposed methane.To identify active aerobic methanotrophs and their methane oxidation potential in sediments from the Shenhu Area in the South China Sea,multi-day enrichment incubations were conducted in this study.The results show that the methane oxidation rates in the studied sediments were 2.03‒2.36μmol/gdw/d,which were higher than those obtained by sediment incubations from other areas in marine ecosystems.Thus the authors suspect that the methane oxidation potential of methanotrophs was relatively higher in sediments from the Shenhu Area.After the incubations family Methylococcaea(type I methanotrophs)mainly consisted of genus Methylobacter and Methylococcaea_Other were predominant with an increased proportion of 70.3%,whereas Methylocaldum decreased simultaneously in the incubated sediments.Collectively,this study may help to gain a better understanding of the methane biotransformation in the Shenhu Area.

Key issues in development of offshore natural gas hydrate

As a new clean energy resource in the 21st century,natural gas hydrate is considered as one of the most promising strategic resources in the future.This paper,based on the research progress in exploitation of natural gas hydrate(NGH)in China and the world,systematically reviewed and discussed the key issues in development of natural gas hydrate.From an exploitation point of view,it is recommended that the concepts of diagenetic hydrate and non-diagenetic hydrate be introduced.The main factors to be considered are whether diagenesis,stability of rock skeleton structure,particle size and cementation mode,thus NGHs are divided into 6 levels and used unused exploitation methods according to different types.The study of the description and quantitative characterization of abundance in hydrate enrichment zone,and looking for gas hydrate dessert areas with commercial exploitation value should be enhanced.The concept of dynamic permeability and characterization of the permeability of NGH by time-varying equations should be established.The‘Three-gas co-production’(natural gas hydrate,shallow gas,and conventional gas)may be an effective way to achieve early commercial exploitation.Although great progress has been made in the exploitation of natural gas hydrate,there still exist enormous challenges in basic theory research,production methods,and equipment and operation modes.Only through hard and persistent exploration and innovation can natural gas hydrate be truly commercially developed on a large scale and contribute to sustainable energy supply.

Fundamental characteristics of gas hydrate-bearing sediments in the Shenhu area, South China Sea

The basic physical properties of marine natural gas hydrate deposits are important to the understanding of seabed growth conditions, occurrence regularity, and occurrence environment of natural gas hydrates. A comprehensive analysis of the core samples of drilling pressure-holding hydrate deposits at a depth of 1310 m in the Shenhu area of the South China Sea was conducted. The experimental results indicate that the particle size in the hydrate sediment samples are mainly distributed in the range from 7.81 µm to 21.72 µm, and the average particle size decreases as the depth of the burial increases. The X-ray CT analytical images and surface characteristics SEM scan images suggest that the sediment is mostly silty clay. There are a large number of bioplastics in the sediment, and the crack inside the core may be areas of hydrate formation.

海域天然气水合物低温抑制性钻井液体系

针对海域天然气水合物钻探所面临的深水低温、浅层窄安全密度窗口、水合物生成与分解抑制、海洋作业环保要求等工程和技术难题,开发了低温抑制性钻井液体系。研发了热力学抑制剂KCl复配动力学抑制剂A2的水合物抑制技术,优选了低温流变稳定性能良好的高分子处理剂,开发的钻井液体系流变性能良好,膨润土含量为2%,API滤失量为4 mL,密度为1.07 g/cm^(3);低温流变稳定性优良,4℃较25℃时钻井液当量循环密度最大增量为0.004 g/cm^(3),优良的流变学性能有利于深水浅部地层窄安全密度窗口井段的井壁稳定和井眼清洁。该体系还具有优异的水合物生成抑制性能,4℃、20 MPa、20 h内完全抑制水合物生成,陈化10 d及被钻屑污染后抑制性能保持良好,同时具备明显的水合物分解抑制性能。各处理剂重金属含量达标,钻井液体系生物毒性半有效浓度EC_(50)值及半致死浓度LC_(50)值均大于30000 mg/L,满足我国一级海区环保要求。该钻井液的综合技术性能满足海域天然气水合物钻探技术要求。