Summary and implications of the Mallik 2002 Gas Hydrate Production Research Well Program

Abstract

Fieldwork at the Mallik 2002 Gas Hydrate Production Research Well Program was conducted during the winter of 2001-2002, 30 years after the original Mallik L-38 discovery well. The field, which is in the Canadian Arctic at the edge of the Mackenzie Delta and the Beaufort Sea, has been shown to have one of the most concentrated gas hydrate deposits in the world. Exploratory wells have shown that almost all of the gas hydrate occurrences exist beneath 300 to 700 m of permafrost within unconsolidated or poorly consolidated sediments of Tertiary age. This paper summarized the scientific and engineering research conducted at the site. Insight was also provided on the implications of these results for the future production of natural gas from gas hydrate deposits and the evaluation of environmental conditions of terrestrial gas hydrate. Gas hydrate was described as being a crystalline solid consisting of gas molecules which may occur in terrestrial or marine accumulations. Interest in gas hydrate deposits as a fuel resource has grown in the past decade as conventional sources of natural gas decline. This paper outlined the petroleum resources in the Mackenzie Delta area. The management of the Mallik 2002 Gas Hydrate project was outlined with reference to the steering committee, the scientific and technical committee, and the international continental scientific drilling program. The 2002 Mallik field program involved surface geophysical surveys which identified gas hydrate occurrence in the JAPEX/JNOC/GSC et al. Mallik 5L-38 research well, and which delineated the gas hydrate zones. Geochemical and microbiology investigations were also conducted as part of the program. The structure and grain characteristics of gas hydrates were identified as well as gas hydrate properties in porous media. Geophysical surveys involved open-hole well logging, cross-well seismic surveys, and a study of geothermal regimes. The implications of climate change on gas hydrate occurrences was also discussed. 87 refs., 8 figs.