Comparison of Simplistic and Geologically Descriptive Production Modeling for Natural-Gas Hydrate by Depressurization

Abstract

Summary Marine-gas-hydrate-drilling exploration at the Eastern Nankai Trough of Japan revealed the variable distribution of hydrate accumulations, which are composed of alternating beds of sand, silt, and clay in sediments, with vertically varying porosity, permeability, and hydrate saturation. The main purposes of this work are to evaluate gas productivity and identify the multiphase-flow behavior from the sedimentary-complex hydrate reservoir by depressurization through a conventional vertical well. We first established a history-matching model by incorporating the available geological data at the offshore-production test site in the Eastern Nankai Trough. The reservoir model was validated by matching the fluid-flow rates at a production well and temperature changes at a monitoring well during a field test. The modeling results indicate that the hydrate-dissociation zone is strongly affected by the reservoir heterogeneity and shows a unique dissociation front. The gas-production rate is expected to increase with time and reach the considerable value of 3.6 × 104 std m3/d as a result of the significant expansion of the dissociation zone. The numerical model, using a simplified description of porosity, permeability, and hydrate saturation, leads to significant underestimation of gas productivity from the sedimentary-complex hydrate reservoir. The results also suggest that the interbedded-hydrate-occurrence systems might be a better candidate for methane (CH4) gas extraction than the massive hydrate reservoirs.