Numerical study on the hydrate rich sediment behaviour during depressurization

Abstract

Exploratory studies have been carried out to identify the potential natural gas hydrate reserves for commercially producing gas. While extracting the gas from the hydrate-bearing sediments using various dissociation techniques, there will be a significant loss of strength in these sediments. It is well known that the behavior of gas hydrate sediments is governed by Thermo Hydro Mechanical Chemical ­ THMC coupled process during the gas extraction. Thus, in this study, in order to understand the influence of depressurization at the well-bore and the permeability of the hydrate reservoir on the sediment deformation characteristics, a 2D (plane strain condition) hydrate reservoir is simulated (using a multiphase numerical schema). From the study, it is observed that the flow response, i.e., the rate of change of gas pressure near the well-bore, decreases with the increase in the duration of the extraction. The maximum settlement occurs for reservoirs having low well-bore pressure (higher amount of depressurization) and high intrinsic permeability. Additionally, these same reservoir conditions also lead to maximum cumulative gas production. Thus, the continuous gas extraction results in a highly porous medium that is stabilized primarily due to the geomechanical changes.

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