Evidence of natural gas hydrate in Kunlun Pass basin, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China

Abstract

The possible occurrence of natural gas hydrate in permafrost of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has significant potential impact on energy resources, climate change and the environment. New data from a scientific drilling project in the Kunlun Pass basin indicates the presence of natural gas hydrate in permafrost on the plateau at Kunlun Pass, Qinghai Province, China. A full suite of petrophysical logs was run in the borehole, and gas geochemistry was logged during drilling. Gas recovered from multi-layer strata below the depth of 250 m was characterized by intermittent gas peaks and methane concentration ranges from 22% to 32% during drilling. Petrophysical analysis indicates that these multi-layer strata are dominated by typical gas hydrate features including low density, high lateral resistivity, and high acoustic velocity. Corroborating petrographic evidence includes authigenic carbonate minerals and pyrite found in these strata, closely related with methane and expected as a product of gas hydrate dissociation.