Optimization of Gas Production from Hydrate-Bearing Sediments with Fluctuation Characteristics

As an important source of low-carbon,clean fossil energy,natural gas hydrate plays an important role in improving the global energy consumption structure.Developing the hydrate industry in the South China Sea is important to achieving‘carbon peak and carbon neutrality’goals as soon as possible.Deep-water areas subjected to the action of long-term stress and tectonic movement have developed complex and volatile terrains,and as such,the morphologies of hydrate-bearing sediments(HBSs)fluctuate correspondingly.The key to numerically simulating HBS morphologies is the establishment of the conceptual model,which represents the objective and real description of the actual geological body.However,current numerical simulation models have characterized HBSs into horizontal strata without considering the fluctuation characteristics.Simply representing the HBS as a horizontal element reduces simulation accuracy.Therefore,the commonly used horizontal HBS model and a model considering the HBS’s fluctuation characteristics with the data of the SH2 site in the Shenhu Sea area were first constructed in this paper.Then,their production behaviors were compared,and the huge impact of the fluctuation characteristics on HBS production was determined.On this basis,the key parameters affecting the depressurization production of the fluctuating HBSs were studied and optimized.The research results show that the fluctuation characteristics have an obvious influence on the hydrate production of HBSs by affecting their temperatures and pressure distributions,as well as the transmission of the pressure drop and methane gas discharge.Furthermore,the results show that the gas productivity of fluctuating HBSs was about 5%less than that of horizontal HBSs.By optimizing the depressurization amplitude,well length,and layout location of vertical wells,the productivity of fluctuating HBSs increased by about 56.6%.

Gas-Water Production of a Continental Tight-Sandstone Gas Reservoir under Different Fracturing Conditions

A numerical model of hydraulic fracture propagation is introduced for a representative reservoir(Yuanba continental tight sandstone gas reservoir in Northeast Sichuan).Different parameters are considered,i.e.,the interlayer stress difference,the fracturing discharge rate and the fracturing fluid viscosity.The results show that these factors affect the gas and water production by influencing the fracture size.The interlayer stress difference can effectively control the fracture height.The greater the stress difference,the smaller the dimensionless reconstruction volume of the reservoir,while the flowback rate and gas production are lower.A large displacement fracturing construction increases the fracture-forming efficiency and expands the fracture size.The larger the displacement of fracturing construction,the larger the dimensionless reconstruction volume of the reservoir,and the higher the fracture-forming efficiency of fracturing fluid,the flowback rate,and the gas production.Low viscosity fracturing fluid is suitable for long fractures,while high viscosity fracturing fluid is suitable for wide fractures.With an increase in the fracturing fluid viscosity,the dimensionless reconstruction volume and flowback rate of the reservoir display a non-monotonic behavior,however,their changes are relatively small.

Numerical Investigation of Combined Production of Natural Gas Hydrate and Conventional Gas

Natural gas hydrate(NGH)is generally produced and accumulated together with the underlying conventional gas.Therefore,optimizing the production technology of these two gases should be seen as a relevant way to effectively reduce the exploitation cost of the gas hydrate.In this study,three types of models accounting for the coexistence of these gases are considered.Type A considers the upper hydrate-bearing layer(HBL)adjacent to the lower conventional gas layer(CGL);with the Type B a permeable interlayer exists between the upper HBL and the lower CGL;with the type C there is an impermeable interlayer between the upper HBL and the lower CGL.The production performances associated with the above three models are calculated under different conditions,including only a depressurized HBL(only HBL DP);only a depressurized CGL(only CGL DP);and both the HBL and the CGL being depressurized(HBL+CGL DP).The results show that for Type A and Type B coexistence accumulation models,when only HBL or CGL is depressurized,the gas from the other layer will flow into the production layer due to the pressure difference between the two layers.In the coexistence accumulation model of type C,the cumulative gas production is much lower than that of Type A and Type B,regardless of whether only HBL DP,only CGL DP,or HBL+CGL DP are considered.This indicates that the impermeable interlayer restricts the cross-flow of gas between HBL and CGL.For three different coexistence accumulation models,CGL DP has the largest gas-to-water ratio.

Geologic characteristics,exploration and production progress of shale oil and gas in the United States:An overview

We present a systematic summary of the geological characteristics,exploration and development history and current state of shale oil and gas in the United States.The hydrocarbon-rich shales in the major shale basins of the United States are mainly developed in six geological periods:Middle Ordovician,Middle-Late Devonian,Early Carboniferous(Middle-Late Mississippi),Early Permian,Late Jurassic,and Late Cretaceous(Cenomanian-Turonian).Depositional environments for these shales include intra-cratonic basins,foreland basins,and passive continental margins.Paleozoic hydrocarbon-rich shales are mainly developed in six basins,including the Appalachian Basin(Utica and Marcellus shales),Anadarko Basin(Woodford Shale),Williston Basin(Bakken Shale),Arkoma Basin(Fayetteville Shale),Fort Worth Basin(Barnett Shale),and the Wolfcamp and Leonardian Spraberry/Bone Springs shale plays of the Permian Basin.The Mesozoic hydrocarbon-rich shales are mainly developed on the margins of the Gulf of Mexico Basin(Haynesville and Eagle Ford)or in various Rocky Mountain basins(Niobrara Formation,mainly in the Denver and Powder River basins).The detailed analysis of shale plays reveals that the shales are different in facies and mineral components,and"shale reservoirs"are often not shale at all.The United States is abundant in shale oil and gas,with the in-place resources exceeding 0.246×10^(12)t and 290×10^(12)m^(3),respectively.Before the emergence of horizontal well hydraulic fracturing technology to kick off the"shale revolution",the United States had experienced two decades of exploration and production practices,as well as theory and technology development.In 2007-2023,shale oil and gas production in the United States increased from approximately 11.2×10^(4)tons of oil equivalent per day(toe/d)to over 300.0×10^(4)toe/d.In 2017,the shale oil and gas production exceeded the conventional oil and gas production in the country.In 2023,the contribution from shale plays to the total U.S.oil and gas production remained above 60%.The development of shale oil and gas has largely been driven by improvements in drilling and completion technologies,with much of the recent effort focused on“cube development”or“co-development”.Other efforts to improve productivity and efficiency include refracturing,enhanced oil recovery,and drilling of“U-shaped”wells.Given the significant resources base and continued technological improvements,shale oil and gas production will continue to contribute significant volumes to total U.S.hydrocarbon production.

Study of inter-well interference in shale gas reservoirs by a robust production data analysis method based on deconvolution

In order to overcome the defects that the analysis of multi-well typical curves of shale gas reservoirs is rarely applied to engineering,this study proposes a robust production data analysis method based on deconvolution,which is used for multi-well inter-well interference research.In this study,a multi-well conceptual trilinear seepage model for multi-stage fractured horizontal wells was established,and its Laplace solutions under two different outer boundary conditions were obtained.Then,an improved pressure deconvolution algorithm was used to normalize the scattered production data.Furthermore,the typical curve fitting was carried out using the production data and the seepage model solution.Finally,some reservoir parameters and fracturing parameters were interpreted,and the intensity of inter-well interference was compared.The effectiveness of the method was verified by analyzing the production dynamic data of six shale gas wells in Duvernay area.The results showed that the fitting effect of typical curves was greatly improved due to the mutual restriction between deconvolution calculation parameter debugging and seepage model parameter debugging.Besides,by using the morphological characteristics of the log-log typical curves and the time corresponding to the intersection point of the log-log typical curves of two models under different outer boundary conditions,the strength of the interference between wells on the same well platform was well judged.This work can provide a reference for the optimization of well spacing and hydraulic fracturing measures for shale gas wells.

A new production component method for natural gas development planning

Based on an analysis of the limitations of conventional production component methods for natural gas development planning,this study proposes a new one that uses life cycle models for the trend fitting and prediction of production.In this new method,the annual production of old and new wells is predicted by year first and then is summed up to yield the production for the planning period.It shows that the changes in the production of old wells in old blocks can be fitted and predicted using the vapor pressure model(VPM),with precision of 80%e95%,which is 6.6%e13.2%higher than that of other life cycle models.Furthermore,a new production prediction process and method for new wells have been established based on this life cycle model to predict the production of medium-to-shallow gas reservoirs in western Sichuan Basin,with predication error of production rate in 2021 and 2022 being 6%and 3%respectively.The new method can be used to guide the medium-and long-term planning or annual scheme preparation for gas development.It is also applicable to planning for large single gas blocks that require continuous infill drilling and adjustment to improve gas recovery.

A transient production prediction method for tight condensate gas wells with multiphase flow

Considering the phase behaviors in condensate gas reservoirs and the oil-gas two-phase linear flow and boundary-dominated flow in the reservoir,a method for predicting the relationship between oil saturation and pressure in the full-path of tight condensate gas well is proposed,and a model for predicting the transient production from tight condensate gas wells with multiphase flow is established.The research indicates that the relationship curve between condensate oil saturation and pressure is crucial for calculating the pseudo-pressure.In the early stage of production or in areas far from the wellbore with high reservoir pressure,the condensate oil saturation can be calculated using early-stage production dynamic data through material balance models.In the late stage of production or in areas close to the wellbore with low reservoir pressure,the condensate oil saturation can be calculated using the data of constant composition expansion test.In the middle stages of production or when reservoir pressure is at an intermediate level,the data obtained from the previous two stages can be interpolated to form a complete full-path relationship curve between oil saturation and pressure.Through simulation and field application,the new method is verified to be reliable and practical.It can be applied for prediction of middle-stage and late-stage production of tight condensate gas wells and assessment of single-well recoverable reserves.

Implication of Water-Rock Interaction for Enhancing Shale Gas Production

Horizontal well drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing technologies are at the root of commercial shale gas development and exploitation.During these processes,typically,a large amount of working fluid enters the formation,resulting in widespread water-rock interaction.Deeply understanding such effects is required to optimize the production system.In this study,the mechanisms of water-rock interaction and the associated responses of shale fabric are systematically reviewed for working fluids such as neutral fluids,acid fluids,alkali fluids and oxidative fluids.It is shown that shale is generally rich in water-sensitive components such as clay minerals,acidsensitive components(like carbonate minerals),alkali-sensitive components(like quartz),oxidative-sensitive components(like organic matter and pyrite),which easily lead to change of rock fabric and mechanical properties owing to water-rock interaction.According to the results,oxidizing acid fluids and oxidizing fracturing fluids should be used to enhance shale gas recovery.This study also indicates that an aspect playing an important role in increasing cumulative gas production is the optimization of the maximum shut-in time based on the change point of the wellhead pressure drop rate.Another important influential factor to be considered is the control of the wellhead pressure considering the stress sensitivity and creep characteristics of the fracture network.

Production forecasting methods for different types of gas reservoirs

Hydrocarbon production in oil and gas fields generally progresses through stages of production ramp-up,plateau(peak),and decline during field development,with the whole process primarily modeled and forecasted using lifecycle models.SINOPEC's conventional gas reservoirs are dominated by carbonates,low-permeability tight sandstone,condensate,volcanic rocks,and medium-to-high-permeability sandstone.This study identifies the optimal production forecasting models by comparing the fitting coefficients of different models and calculating the relative errors in technically recoverable reserves.To improve forecast precision,it suggests substituting exponential smoothing method-derived predictions for anomalous data caused by subjective influences like market dynamics and maintenance activities.The preferred models for carbonate gas reservoir production forecasts are the generalized Weng's,Beta,Class-I generalized mathematical,and Hu-Chen models.The Vapor pressure and Beta models are optimal for forecasting the annual productivity of wells(APW)from gas-bearing low-permeability tight sandstone reservoirs.The Wang-Li,Beta,and Yu QT tb models are apt for moderate-to-small-reserves,single low-permeability tight sandstone gas reservoirs.The Rayleigh,Hu-Chen,and generalized Weng's models are suitable for condensate gas reservoirs.For medium-to-high-permeability sandstone gas reservoirs,the lognormal,generalized gamma,and Beta models are recommended.

Evaluation of the Shallow Gas Hydrate Production Based on the Radial Drilling-Heat Injection-Back Fill Method

It has been evidenced that shallow gas hydrate resources are abundant in deep oceans worldwide.Their geological back-ground,occurrence,and other characteristics differ significantly from deep-seated hydrates.Because of the high risk of well construction and low production efficiency,they are difficult to be recovered by using conventional oil production methods.As a result,this paper proposes an alternative design based on a combination of radial drilling,heat injection,and backfilling methods.Multi-branch holes are used to penetrate shallow gas hydrate reservoirs to expand the depressurization area,and heat injection is utilized as a supplement to improve gas production.Geotechnical information collected from an investigation site close to the offshore production well in the South China Sea is used to assess the essential components of this plan,including well construction stability and gas production behavior.It demonstrates that the hydraulic fracturing of the 60mbsf overburden layer can be prevented by regulating the drilling fluid densities.However,the traditional well structure is unstable,and the suction anchor is advised for better mechanical performance.The gas produc-tion rate can be significantly increased by combining hot water injection and depressurization methods.Additionally,the suitable produc-tion equipment already in use is discussed.

Numerical study on gas production via a horizontal well from hydrate reservoirs with different slope angles in the South China Sea

It is important to study the effect of hydrate production on the physical and mechanical properties of low-permeability clayey–silty reservoirs for the largescale exploitation of hydrate reservoirs in the South China Sea.In this study,a multiphysical-field coupling model,combined with actual exploration drilling data and the mechanical experimental data of hydrate cores in the laboratory,was established to investigate the physical and mechanical properties of low-permeability reservoirs with different slope angles during 5-year hydrate production by the depressurization method via a horizontal well.The result shows that the permeability of reservoirs severely affects gas production rate,and the maximum gas production amount of a 20-m-long horizontal well can reach186.8 m3/day during the 5-year hydrate production.Reservoirs with smaller slope angles show higher gas production rates.The depressurization propagation and hydrate dissociation mainly develop along the direction parallel to the slope.Besides,the mean effective stress of reservoirs is concentrated in the near-wellbore area with the on-going hydrate production,and gradually decreases with the increase of the slope angle.Different from the effective stress distribution law,the total reservoir settlement amount first decreases and then increases with the increase of the slope angle.The maximum settlement of reservoirs with a 0°slope angle is up to 3.4 m,and the displacement in the near-wellbore area is as high as2.2 m after 5 years of hydrate production.It is concluded that the pore pressure drop region of low-permeability reservoirs in the South China Sea is limited,and various slope angles further lead to differences in effective stress and strain of reservoirs during hydrate production,resulting in severe uneven settlement of reservoirs.

Mechanical Modeling and Analysis of Stability Deterioration of Production Well During Marine Hydrate Depressurization Production

Different from oil and gas production,hydrate reservoirs are shallow and unconsolidated,whose mechanical properties deteriorate with hydrate decomposition.Therefore,the formations will undergo significant subsidence during depressurization,which will destroy the original force state of the production well.However,existing research on the stability of oil and gas production wells assumes the formation to be stable,and lacks consideration of the force exerted on the hydrate production well by formation subsidence caused by hydrate decomposition during production.To fill this gap,this paper proposes an analytical method for the dynamic evolution of the stability of hydrate production well considering the effects of hydrate decomposition.Based on the mechanical model of the production well,the basis for stability analysis has been proposed.A multi-field coupling model of the force state of the production well considering the effect of hydrate decomposition and formation subsidence is established,and a solver is developed.The analytical approach is verified by its good agreement with the results from the numerical method.A case study found that the decomposition of hydrate will increase the pulling-down force and reduce the supporting force,which is the main reason for the stability deterioration.The higher the initial hydrate saturation,the larger the reservoir thickness,and the lower the production pressure,the worse the stability or even instability.This work can provide a theoretical reference for the stability maintaining of the production well.

Progress in Global Gas Hydrate Development and Production as a New Energy Resource

Natural gas hydrates have been hailed as a new and promising unconventional alternative energy,especially as fossil fuels approach depletion,energy consumption soars,and fossil fuel prices rise,owing to their extensive distribution,abundance,and high fuel efficiency.Gas hydrate reservoirs are similar to a storage cupboard in the global carbon cycle,containing most of the world's methane and accounting for a third of Earth's mobile organic carbon.We investigated gas hydrate stability zone burial depths from the viewpoint of conditions associated with stable existence of gas hydrates,such as temperature,pressure,and heat flow,based on related data collected by the global drilling programs.Hydrate-related areas are estimated using various biological,geochemical and geophysical tools.Based on a series of previous investigations,we cover the history and status of gas hydrate exploration in the USA,Japan,South Korea,India,Germany,the polar areas,and China.Then,we review the current techniques for hydrate exploration in a global scale.Additionally,we briefly review existing techniques for recovering methane from gas hydrates,including thermal stimulation,depressurization,chemical injection,and CH4-CO2 exchange,as well as corresponding global field trials in Russia,Japan,United States,Canada and China.In particular,unlike diagenetic gas hydrates in coarse sandy sediments in Japan and gravel sediments in the United States and Canada,most gas hydrates in the northem South China Sea are non-diagenetic and exist in fine-grained sediments with a vein-like morphology.Therefore,especially in terms of the offshore production test in gas hydrate reservoirs in the Shenhu area in the north slope of the South China Sea,Chinese scientists have proposed two unprecedented techniques that have been verified during the field trials:solid fluidization and formation fluid extraction.Herein,we introduce the two production techniques,as well as the so-called"fbur-in-one"environmental monitoring system employed during the Shenhu production test.Methane is not currently commercially produced from gas hydrates anywhere in the world;therefore,the objective of field trials is to prove whether existing techniques could be applied as feasible and economic production methods for gas hydrates in deep-water sediments and permafrost zones.Before achieving commercial methane recovery from gas hydrates,it should be necessary to measure the geologic properties of gas hydrate reservoirs to optimize and improve existing production techniques.Herein,we propose horizontal wells,multilateral wells,and cluster wells improved by the vertical and in dividual wells applied during existing field trials.It is noteworthy that relatively pure gas hydrates occur in seafloor mounds,within near-surface sediments,and in gas migration conduits.Their extensive distribution,high saturation,and easy access mean that these types of gas hydrate may attract considerable attention from academia and industry in the future.Herein,we also review the occurrence and development of concentrated shallow hydrate accumulations and briefly introduce exploration and production techniques.In the closing section,we discuss future research needs,key issues,and major challenges related to gas hydrate exploration and production.We believe this review article provides insight on past,present,and future gas hydrate exploration and production to provide guidelines and stimulate new work into the field of gas hydrates.

Theory and practice of integrated coal production and gas extraction

The integrated extraction of coal and gas combines coal mining with gas capture. Taking into account the gas deposition and flow conditions in the Chinese coal basins, this paper describes the status of the theory and key technologies of this integrated extraction system, and presents its application and practice in the Shaqu, Zhongxing, Fenghuangshan and Pingmei mines. Areas for further improvements in future studies are discussed, focusing in particular on the fundamentals of the extraction system to make it greener, more scientific, and more advanced in both the exploitation and utilization of coal and the gas in coal.

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.

Shale gas production evaluation framework based on data-driven models

Increasing the production and utilization of shale gas is of great significance for building a clean and low-carbon energy system.Sharp decline of gas production has been widely observed in shale gas reservoirs.How to forecast shale gas production is still challenging due to complex fracture networks,dynamic fracture properties,frac hits,complicated multiphase flow,and multi-scale flow as well as data quality and uncertainty.This work develops an integrated framework for evaluating shale gas well production based on data-driven models.Firstly,a comprehensive dominated-factor system has been established,including geological,drilling,fracturing,and production factors.Data processing and visualization are required to ensure data quality and determine final data set.A shale gas production evaluation model is developed to evaluate shale gas production levels.Finally,the random forest algorithm is used to forecast shale gas production.The prediction accuracy of shale gas production level is higher than 95%based on the shale gas reservoirs in China.Forty-one wells are randomly selected to predict cumulative gas production using the optimal regression model.The proposed shale gas production evaluation frame-work overcomes too many assumptions of analytical or semi-analytical models and avoids huge computation cost and poor generalization for numerical modelling.

SCHEMES OF GAS PRODUCTION FROM NATURAL GAS HYDRATES

Natural gas hydrates are a kind of nonpolluting and high quality energy resources for future, the reserves of which are about twice of the carbon of the current fossil energy (petroleum, natural gas and coal) on the earth. And it will be the most important energy for the 21st century. The energy balance and numerical simulation are applied to study the schemes of the natural gas hydrates production in this paper,and it is considered that both depressurization and thermal stimulation are effective methods for exploiting natural gas hydrates, and that the gas production of the thermal stimulation is higher than that of the depressurization. But thermal stimulation is non-economic because it requires large amounts of energy.Therefore the combination of the two methods is a preferable method for the current development of the natural gas hydrates. The main factors which influence the production of natural gas hydrates are: the temperature of injected water, the injection rate, the initial saturation of the hydrates and the initial temperature of the reservoir which is the most important factor.

Distribution of gas hydrate reservoir in the first production test region of the Shenhu area,South China Sea

In May and July of 2017,China Geological Survey (CGS),and Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey (GMGS)carried out a production test of gas hydrate in the Shenhu area of the South China Sea and acquired a breakthrough of two months continuous gas production and nearly 3.1×10^5 m^3 of production. The gas hydrate reservoir in the Shenhu area of China,is mainly composed of fine-grained clay silt with low permeability,and very difficult for exploitation,which is very different from those discovered in the USA,and Canada (both are conglomerate),Japan (generally, coarse sand)and India (fracture-filled gas hydrate).Based on 3D seismic data preserved-amplitude processing and fine imaging,combined with logging-while-drilling (LWD)and core analysis data,this paper discusses the identification and reservoir characterization of gas hydrate orebodies in the Shenhu production test area.We also describe the distribution characteristics of the gas hydrate deposits and provided reliable data support for the optimization of the production well location.Through BSR feature recognition,seismic attribute analysis, model based seismic inversion and gas hydrate reservoir characterization,this paper describes two relatively independent gas hydrate orebodies in the Shenhu area,which are distributed in the north-south strip and tend to be thicker in the middle and thinner at the edge.The effective thickness of one orebody is bigger but the distribution area is relatively small.The model calculation results show that the distribution area of the gas hydrate orebody controlled by W 18/W 19 is about 11.24 km^2,with an average thickness of 19 m and a maximum thickness of 39 m,and the distribution area of the gas hydrate orebody controlled by W11/W17 is about 6.42 km^2,with an average thickness of 26 m and a maximum thickness of 90 m.

New Way of Predicting Production State by Carbon Isotope Fractionation in the Fuling Shale Gas Field,Southeast Sichuan Basin

Objective With the discovery of the Fuling shale gas field and the realization of commercial exploitation, the prediction of shale gas well production state has attracted wide attention of scholars at home and abroad.

Preliminary results of environmental monitoring of the natural gas hydrate production test in the South China Sea

Natural gas hydrate (NGH)is considered as one of the new clean energy sources of the 21st century with the highest potential.The environmental issues of NGH production have attracted the close attention of scientists in various countries.From May 10 to July 9,2017,the first offshore NGH production test in the South China Sea (SCS)was conducted by the China Geological Survey.In addition,environmental security has also been effectively guaranteed via a comprehensive environmental monitoring system built during the NGH production test.The monitoring system considered sea-surface atmosphere methane and carbon dioxide concentrations,dissolved methane in the sea water column,and the seafloor physical oceanography and marine chemistry environment.The whole process was monitored via multiple means, in multiple layers,in all domains,and in real time.After the production test,an environmental investigation was promptly conducted to evaluate the environmental impact of the NGH production test. The monitoring results showed that the dissolved methane concentration in seawater and the near-seabed environment characteristics after the test were consistent with the background values,indicating that the NGH production test did not cause environmental problems such as methane leakage.