In February 2007, the U.S. Department of Energy, BP Exploration (Alaska), Inc., and the U.S. Geological Survey conducted an extensive data collection effort at the "Mount Elbert #1" gas hydrates stratigraphic test well on the Alaska North Slope (ANS). The 22-day field program acquired significant gas hydrate-bearing reservoir data, including a full suite of open-hole well logs, over 500 feet of continuous core, and open-hole formation pressure response tests. Hole conditions, and therefore log data quality, were excellent due largely to the use of chilled oilbased drilling fluids. The logging program confirmed the existence of approximately 30 m of gashydrate saturated, fine-grained sand reservoir. Gas hydrate saturations were observed to range from 60% to 75% largely as a function of reservoir quality. Continuous wire-line coring operations (the first conducted on the ANS) achieved 85% recovery through 153 meters of section, providing more than 250 subsamples for analysis. The "Mount Elbert" data collection program culminated with open-hole tests of reservoir flow and pressure responses, as well as gas and water sample collection, using Schlumberger's Modular Formation Dynamics Tester (MDT) wireline tool. Four such tests, ranging from six to twelve hours duration, were conducted. This field program demonstrated the ability to safely and efficiently conduct a research-level openhole data acquisition program in shallow, sub-permafrost sediments. The program also demonstrated the soundness of the program's pre-drill gas hydrate characterization methods and increased confidence in gas hydrate resource assessment methodologies for the ANS.

Nucleation is a stochastic process, most accurately represented by a probability distribution. Obtaining sufficient data to define this probability distribution is a laborious process. Here, we describe a novel instrument capable of the automated determination of hydrate nucleation probability under non-equilibrium conditions for a range of natural gas mixtures at pressures up to 10MPa. The instrument is based on the automated lag time apparatus (ALTA) which was developed to study the stochastic nature of nucleation in ambient pressure systems [1].We demonstrate that the probability distribution represents a robust and reproducible tool for the quantitative evaluation of hydrate formation risk under pseudo-realistic pressure conditions.

Two internationally-partnered research well programs, in 1998 and 2002, studied the Mallik gas hydrate accumulation in the Mackenzie Delta, Canada. Gas hydrate bearing intervals were cored, logged and production tested thus establishing Mallik as an excellent site for testing geophysical imaging techniques. Here, we apply a model-based acoustic impedance inversion technique to 3D seismic reflection data acquired over the Mallik area to characterize gas hydrate occurrences and to help define their spatial extent away from well control. Sonic logs in Mallik research wells show that P-wave velocity of sediments increases with hydrate saturation, enough to produce detectable reflections for the lower two of three known gas hydrate zones. The inversion method converts these reflections into acoustic impedances from which velocity and hydrate saturation can be estimated. Acoustic impedance inversion results indicate that the deepest gas hydrate zone covers an area of approximately 900,000 m2. With some assumptions on the lateral continuity of gas hydrate saturation, porosity and thickness measured at the wells, we estimate that this zone contains approximately 771x106 m3 of gas at standard atmospheric pressure. At a regional scale, results allowed the detection of a high-velocity area near the A-06 well, about 6 km south-east of 5L-38. We infer that the high velocity area corresponds to a gas hydrate accumulation. Logging data in A-06 indicate the presence of gas hydrates in this area and support our interpretation.

Mineralogical and isotopic analysis of authigenic carbonates from different gas hydrate-bearing seepage structures in the Derugin Basin (Sea of Okhotsk) are presented. The analysis showed the existence of four morphological types of carbonates, with all of them mainly of Mg-calcite.13C values of carbonates generally light owing to the inheritance of carbon from microbial methane. 13C-enriched samples at the VNIIOkeangeologia structure with 13C values of up to +9.3‰ represent carbonate precipitation due to methanogenesis. The calculated equilibrium 18O values of carbonates in general correspond to measured values.

Large quantities of natural gas hydrate are present in marine sediments along the coastlines of many countries as well as in arctic regions. This research is aimed at assessing production of natural gas from the marine deposits. We had developed a multiphase, multicomponent, thermal, 3D simulator in the past, which can simulate production of hydrates both in equilibrium and kinetic modes. Four components (hydrate, methane, water and salt) and five phases (hydrate, gas, aqueous-phase, ice and salt precipitate) are considered in the simulator. In this work, we simulate depressurization and warm water flooding for hydrate production in a hydrate reservoir underlain by a water layer. Water flooding has been studied as a function of injection temperature, injection pressure and production pressure. For high injection temperature, the higher pressure increases the flow of warm water (heat) in the reservoir making the production rate faster, but if injection temperature is not high then only depressurization is the best method of production. At intermediate injection temperature, the production rate changes non-monotonically with the injection pressure.

In April-June of 2007, a gas hydrate drilling expedition was carried out by using M/V Bavenit in Shenhu Area, the north slope of South China Sea. High concentrations of hydrate (>40%) were obtained in a disseminated forms in foram-rich clay sediments at 3 selected sites. The hydrate-bearing sediments ranged several ten meters in thickness are located in the lower part of GHSZ, just above the BGHSZ, and are typically characteristic of higher sonic velocity and resistivity, and lower gamma density in wireline logging profiles. Evidences for gas hydrate include the IR cold spots and temperature anomalies, salinity and chlorite geochemical anomaly of pore water for non-pressurized cores, and X-ray imaging, high p-wave velocity and low gamma density, and high concentration of methane from the pressurized cores. Gasses are mainly methane (max. ethane 0.2-0.3%), therefore only hydrate S1 is formed. It is inferred that the foram content and other silt size grains may provide enough free water for the hydrate to happily occupy both the large spaces in the forams and for it to distribute itself evenly (disseminated) throughout the formation. It is possible that all the forams are hydrate filled. As the forams are visible does this not count for visible white gas hydrates.

Differential scanning calorimetry has been used to study the kinetics of formation of clathrate hydrates in the systems water-CCl3F and water-CH4, in which the water phase was dispersed in an oil phase in the form of an emulsion. CCl3F hydrates were formed at ambient pressure and constant temperatures of -10, -15 and -20 °C. The results showed that the crystallization of both ice and hydrate are in competition at the lowest temperature, whereas only hydrate is formed at -10 or -15 °C. CH4 hydrates were studied using a high-pressure DSC in the range 10 to 40 MPa, at various temperatures. At high driving force, the heat peak related to the formation of hydrates has a regular and symmetric shape, and its height and width depend on the gas pressure and sub cooling degree. At near equilibrium conditions, hydrate formation can be delayed by several hours, but is still clearly observable. A model based on crystal growth theory coupled with a statistical law to take into account the germination in micro sized droplets is proposed.

Gas hydrates are ice-like crystalline solids composed of a hydrogen bonded water lattice entrapping low-molecular weighted gas molecules commonly of methane. These form under conditions of relative high pressure and low temperature, when the gas concentration exceeds those which can be held in solution, both in marine and on-land permafrost sediments. Simulating the mechanisms leading to natural gas hydrate emplacement in geological environments requires the modeling of the temperature, the pressure, the chemical reactions, and the convective/diffusive flow of the reactive species. In this study, we take into account the distribution of dissolved methane, methane gas, methane hydrate, and seawater, while ice and water vapor are neglected. The starting equations are those of the conservation of the transport of momentum (Darcy’s law), energy (heat balance of the passive sediments and active reactive species), and mass. These constitutive equations are then integrated into a 2-dimentional finite element in space, finite-difference in time scheme. In this study, we are able to examine the formation and distribution of methane hydrate and free gas in a simple geologic framework, with respect to geothermal gradient, dewatering and fluid flow, the methane in-situ production and basal flux. The temperature and pressure fields are mildly affected by the hydrate emplacement. The most critical parameter in the model appears to be the methane (L+G) and hydrate (L+G+H) solubility: the decrease in methane solubility beneath the base of the hydrate stability zone (BHSZ) critically impacts on the presence of free gas at the base of the BHSZ (thus the presence of a BSR), while the sharp decrease of hydrate solubility above the BHSZ up to the sea bottom critically impact on the amount of methane available for hydrate emplacement and methane seep into the water column.

In this study, Tetrahydrofuran (THF) hydrates were formed in-situ in the Zetasizer Nano ZS90. With various concentrations of SDS, we attempted to characterize the SDS adsorption on the surface of the hydrate particles. In doing so, we tried to correlate the adsorption of SDS to THF hydrate induction times with respect to SDS concentration (0 – 3.47 mM), to determine whether the fast nucleation of THF hydrates is due to the adsorption of SDS. The measured ζ-potential for pure THF hydrates was -100 ± 10 mV, indicating anion adsorption. An adsorption curve was observed where there is saturation leveling. Correlating this data to the hydrate induction times, we see that when the saturation level is reached, a significant reduction in induction time can be seen.

Over the last decade pockmarks have proven to be important seabed features that provide information about fluid flow on continental margins. Their formation and dynamics are still poorly constrained due to the lack of proper three dimensional imaging of their internal structure. Numerous fluid escape features provide evidence for an active fluid-flow system on the Norwegian margin, specifically in the Nyegga region. In June-July 2006 a high-resolution seismic experiment using Ocean Bottom Seismometers (OBS) was carried out to investigate the detailed 3D structure of a pockmark named G11 in the region. An array of 14 OBS was deployed across the pockmark with 1 m location accuracy. Shots fired from surface towed mini GI guns were also recorded on a near surface hydrophone streamer. Several reflectors of high amplitude and reverse polarity are observed on the profiles indicating the presence of gas. Gas hydrates were recovered with gravity cores from less than a meter below the seafloor during the cruise. Indications of gas at shallow depths in the hydrate stability field show that methane is able to escape through the water-saturated sediments in the chimney without being entirely converted into gas hydrate. An initial 2D raytraced forward model of some of the P wave data along a line running NE-SW across the G11 pockmark shows, a gradual increase in velocity between the seafloor and a gas charged zone lying at ~300 m depth below the seabed. The traveltime fit is improved if the pockmark is underlain by velocities higher than in the surrounding layer corresponding to a pipe which ascends from the gas zone, to where it terminates in the pockmark as seen in the reflection profiles. This could be due to the presence of hydrates or carbonates within the sediments.