Development Of Natural Gas Industry Research Articles

Development, challenges and strategies of natural gas industry under carbon neutral target in China

In the mid-21st century, natural gas will enter its golden age, and the era of natural gas is arriving. This paper reviews the development stages of global natural gas industry and the enlightenment of American shale gas revolution, summarizes the development history and achievements of the natural gas industry in China, analyzes the status and challenges of natural gas in the green and low-carbon energy transition, and puts forward the natural gas industry development strategies under carbon neutral target in China. The natural gas industry in China has experienced three periods: start, growth, and leap forward. At present, China has become the fourth largest natural gas producer and third largest natural gas consumer in the world, and has made great achievements in natural gas exploration and development theory and technology, providing important support for the growth of production and reserves. China has set its goal of carbon neutrality to promote green and sustainable development, which brings opportunities and challenges for natural gas industry. Natural gas has significant low-carbon advantages, and gas-electric peak shaving boosts new energy development; the difficulty and cost of development are more prominent. For the national energy security and harmonious development between economy and ecology under the carbon neutral goal, based on the principle of “comprehensive planning, technological innovation, multi-energy complementarity, diversified integration, flexibility and efficiency, optimization and upgrading”, the construction of the production-supply- storage-marketing system has to be improved so as to boost the development of the natural gas industry. First, it is necessary to strengthen efforts in the exploration and development of natural gas, making projects and arrangement in key exploration and development areas, meanwhile, it is urgent to make breakthroughs in key science theories and technologies, so as to increase reserve and production. Second, it should promote green and innovative development of the natural gas by developing new techniques, expanding new fields and integrating with new energy. Third, there is a demand to realize transformation and upgrading of the supply and demand structure of natural gas by strengthening the layout of pipeline gas, liquefied natural gas and the construction of underground gas storage, establishing reserve system for improving abilities of emergency response and adjustment, raising the proportion of natural gas in the primary energy consumption and contributing to the transformation of energy consumption structure, realizing low-carbon resources utilization and clean energy consumption.

Enhanced gas recovery: Theory, technology, and prospects

Research on the enhanced gas recovery (EGR) technology is urgently needed in most of China's major gas fields due to low recovery in their late development stages. To promote progress in ERG theory and technology, this paper establishes a unified and universal model for gas recovery evaluation, analyzes the key factors affecting the gas recovery, and expects the prospect of EGR. The results are obtained as follows. First, the production degree of reserves, pressure drawdown sweep efficiency and pressure depletion efficiency are key factors affecting the gas recovery, which is the product of the coefficients corresponding to these factors. Second, according to the development practice of Anyue Longwangmiao gas reservoir, Kela 2 gas field, Sulige gas field and Southern Sichuan shale gas, it is estimated that the recovery of conventional water-driven gas reservoirs and unconventional gas reservoirs (incl. tight gas and shale gas) can be improved by 6–15 percentage points by increasing the production degree of reserves, the pressure drawdown sweep efficiency and pressure depletion efficiency. Third, it is proposed that clarifying the EGR mechanism, developing new EGR methods, and promoting the field test of EGR technologies are directions for theoretical and technical researches. The study results provide a theoretical foundation for EGR. The EGR methodologies for different types of gas reservoirs provide technical support for improving gas recovery and stable production of existing gas fields, promote healthy and rapid development of natural gas industry in China and provide guidance for guaranteeing national energy security.

Kinetics of Methane Hydrate Formation in the Presence of Silica Nanoparticles and Cetyltrimethylammonium Bromide

AbstractHydrate technology promoted the development of natural gas industry. Nanoparticles showed a broad prospect for hydrate technology because of their excellent mass and heat transfer characteristics. At an experimental temperature of 275.15 K and pressure of 5 MPa, silica nanoparticles and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) were used to investigate the characteristics (pressure drop, gas storage capacity, and formation rate). The experimental results showed that the higher the concentration of silica nanofluid, the shorter the induction time. Among the four silica nanoparticles concentration (0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.5 wt%) tested in this work, the concentration of 0.3 wt% was optimal for the enhancement of CH4 hydrate formation. In the complex system composed of silica nanoparticles and CTAB, the surface of silica nanoparticles was positively charged by hydrolysis. The cationic active groups ionized by surfactants were aggregated to the surface of the particles under the Coulomb force. Methane molecules were gathered to hydrophobic groups by non‐polar adsorption, which was more conducive to hydrate formation. Compared to silica nanofluid, the total time for hydrate formation decreased by 66.2 %.

Development of natural gas industry in China: Review and prospect

In order to better promote the sustainable, effective and rapid development of natural gas business and the on-schedule realization of “carbon peak and carbon neutrality” goal, this paper summarizes and reviews the achievements and experience in the development of natural gas industry in China. Then, the influence of energy environmental policies on the development of natural gas industry is analyzed, and domestic natural gas exploration and development situations are dissected. Finally, domestic natural gas exploration and development prospect is forecasted, and the corresponding development suggestions are proposed. And the following research results are obtained. First, under the commitment of the Paris Agreement and the strategy of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, China's natural gas industry faces unprecedented development opportunities. Second, domestic natural gas is characterized by abundant resource bases, low proven rate of resource and clear target and field of reserve and production increase, but the complexity of the resources and the rise of exploration and development cost make it more difficult to realize the large-scale efficient increase of natural gas production. Third, nevertheless, in order to ensure national energy security and reach the dual goals of economic development and environmental protection, China continues to powerfully enhance domestic oil and gas exploration and development. According to the growth trend of new proved gas reserves, it is predicted that the domestic new proved gas reserves by 2040 will be 16 × 1012–20 × 1012 m3, the peak natural gas production of 2900 × 108–3300 × 108 m3 will be reached in 2030, and the proven rate of recoverable gas resources will be around 14%, which indicates the sustainability of the development goal. In order to realize these development goals, five suggestions are put forward: (1) Maintain continuous and stable investment in exploration and development, so that new breakthroughs and discoveries can be achieved continuously in natural gas exploration and natural gas development can keep the production arrow upward while compensating the production decline; (2) Strengthen technological researches and make use of technological and managerial innovation to break through forbidden exploration areas and improve the development benefits of gas fields; (3) Enhance the comprehensive management of developed gas fields to increase their ultimate recovery factor; (4) Optimize domestic and foreign gas sources, conventional and unconventional gas compositions as a whole to improve the ability to deal with gas supply risks; (5) Provide taxation preferences and subsidy policies continuously for unconventional natural gas to speed up the large-scale benefit production increase of unconventional natural gas.

2021–2025 is a period of great development of China's natural gas industry: Suggestions on the exploration and development of natural gas during the 14th five-year plan in China

Among the world's 10 major gas producing countries, only the United States (USA), Russia and Iran have annual gas production of 250 × 109 m3 or more. China is expected to have gas output of 250 × 109 m3 in 2025. There are three advantages for the great development of natural gas industry in China. Firstly, the natural gas resources are rich and the proved rate is low and only 8.6%, so it has the resource advantage for faster development; Secondly, over the past 35 years, natural gas production continues to grow, with the growth advantage for faster development; Finally, since 2006, the remaining recoverable reserves of natural gas have been increasing year by year, showing the reserve advantage for faster development. In recent 10 years, China's annual natural gas production growth rate, remaining recoverable reserves and reserve-production ratio of natural gas support that China's annual gas production in 2025 will reach 250 × 109 m3. Suggestions for accelerating natural gas exploration and development during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period: (1) Opening new exploration and development fields of Carboniferous-Permian shale gas in the Ordos Basin; (2) Exploring three potential large gas districts with hidden coal measures in the northern Tianshan Piedown Depression, Qaidam Depression, and Xihu Sag; (3) Accelerating the development of seven large gas fields with proved reserves over 100 × 109 m3, such as Lingshui 17–2 Gas Field; (4) Increasing the drilling of gas wells and ultra-deep exploration wells.

Medium- and long-term development path of natural gas consumption in China: Based on a multi-model comparison framework

As a kind of relatively clean fossil energy, natural gas will face severe uncertainties in the background of carbon neutrality. Reviewing the medium- and long-term development trend of natural gas consumption is the prerequisite to better understanding the status of natural gas and ensure the sustainable development of natural gas industry. In this paper, a multi-model comparison framework is established on the basis of 8 representative integrated assessment models (CE3METL, DNE21+, IPAC, AIM/CGE, IMAGE, REMIND, WITCH and POLES). Then, the medium- and long-term evolution trend of China's total primary energy consumption and natural gas consumption in different scenarios of climate policy is discussed. In addition, comparative analysis is conducted on key time nodes such as 2030, 2045 and 2060. And the following research results are obtained. Firstly, the prediction results of most models indicate that China's total primary energy consumption in 2060 will be lower than the level in 2019 except for the scenario of national determined contribution (NDC). Secondly, by 2060, the carbon neutrality goal year, the cross-model average level of natural gas consumption under the NDC, 2.0 °C, and 1.5 °C scenarios will be 6943 × 108 m3, 4342 × 108 m3 and 2502 × 108 m3, respectively. Thirdly, under the 1.5 °C scenario, the decrease of total primary energy consumption shall begin in 2020, which means that faster technological progress and more effective combination of “nudge” policies are needed. Fourthly, under the temperature control goal of 2.0 °C, natural gas consumption will account for about 13.6% of China's primary energy consumption in 2060, and this proportion will drop to 9% under the stricter 1.5 °C scenario. In conclusion, the multi-model comparison results can present different development paths of China's total primary energy consumption and natural gas consumption and its proportion during 2020–2060 more comprehensively, so as to provide support for formulating the medium- and long-term policies and strategies of natural gas industry under the challenge of climate change.

Fine Scale Geological Modeling Techniques in Kela 2 Gas Field

As the major gas resource of the West-East Gas Transmission Project, Kela 2 gas field plays an important role in the natural gas industry development and social demand in China. After 17 years development, annual gas production of Kela 2 gas field is stable in over 5 billion cubic meters, which has great reference value for the other gas field’s development. Kela 2 gas field is in the middle-late development period at present, some gas wells experienced water flooding in advance, which has resulted in a productivity decrease. Main challenges at current development period are development scheme adjustments such as water invasion prevention, water invasion control, production allocation optimization, and the conventional geological modeling cannot meet the scale requirement for the development scheme adjustment. By using the fine scale geological modeling techniques, it could provide a basis for the study of remaining reserves distribution, horizontal well deployment, water control and drainage scheme design.

Natural gas industry in China: Development situation and prospect

China's natural gas industry has entered a rapid development stage, and its supply, sales, storage and transport systems are continuously undergoing profound structural change. It is a major issue concerning national energy security to objectively grasp the current development situation and trend of natural gas industry and make scientific predictions. In this regard, through the analysis of global natural gas resources status, trade pattern and development trend, we reviewed the development process, current situation, trend and problems in natural gas industry in China, then made prospect analysis and judgment in terms of demand and supply, etc., and finally put forward some reasonable and sustainable strategic countermeasures and proposals. The following results were obtained. (1) The comprehensive energy elasticity coefficient method was adopted to predict that the natural gas consumption volume in 2030 will be about 650 billion cubic meters. (2) Affected by many factors such as energy supply side reform, industrialization and urbanization, the growth rate of domestic natural gas consumption is much higher than that of production and the development of natural gas industry still faces a series of problems. (3) It is necessary to strengthen the exploration and development of natural gas to ensure the increase of domestic natural gas storage and production. (4) Diversified import channels should be continuously expanded to disperse the risk of excessive growth of natural gas dependence on foreign countries. (5) The construction of national and dynamic interconnection system and hub should be accelerated. (6) China should rationalize the price mechanism of natural gas, gradually open the control on industrial and seasonal consumption, and strengthen the overall sales guidance in the national market.

Connotations of scientific development of giant gas fields in China

A giant gas field refers to a gas field with proved geological reserves of natural gas more than 30 billion cubic meters, peak annual output of natural gas more than 1 billion cubic meters, and a certain plateau period. It is an important foundation for the rapid growth of China's natural gas reserves and production and its long-term stable development in the future. And it is also the key to ensure the security of gas supply. By systematically analyzing the development practice of more than 260 gas fields at home and abroad and dissecting and simulating typical gas fields, this paper comprehensively studied the connotation, core technology and whole life cycle index system on the scientific development of giant gas fields. It is indicated that the scientific development connotation of giant gas fields consists of the following parts. First, the natural gas development concept with “water identification, control and treatment” as the technical system is put forward. That is to carry out “water-control development” in conventional gas fields and hydraulic fracturing development in unconventional gas fields. A reasonable gas production rate should be set according to the types and characteristics of gas reservoirs. Second, economic and social benefits of gas field development should be evaluated comprehensively to ensure its long-term stable production. Third, the suitable production stabilization mode shall be adopted according to the production characteristics of gas wells and the development characteristics of reservoirs. Fourth, the recoverable reserves of a gas field, the development laws of formation water and artificial water flooding, the ultimate recovery technological countermeasures of the gas field, the cost-effective stable period of the gas field should be determined based on the fine description of conventional and unconventional gas reservoirs in different stages, the development characteristics of gas reservoirs and the monitoring results of production performance. The core technologies in the scientific development of giant gas fields include large-scale optimization technology, scientific well arrangement technology, balanced production technology and deep potential tapping technology. Based on this, several parameters are selected comprehensively as the key indexes for the scientific development of giant gas fields, such as production rate, pressure drop, degree of reserves recovery and output per unit pressure drop, and the whole life cycle index systems for four types of gas reservoirs are established, i.e., high-pressure gas reservoirs, low-permeability and tight gas reservoirs, fractured–porous reservoirs, and shale gas reservoirs. In conclusion, the research results enrich and improve the theories of natural gas development geology and are conducive to guiding the scientific development of different-type giant gas fields, thus further promoting the rapid development of natural gas industry in China.

Natural gas measurement technology system and its prospect in China

Natural gas measurement is an important basic job in national, social and economic development, and accurate and reliable measurement is an important guarantee for promoting the rapid development of natural gas industry in China. In this paper, the importance and characteristics of natural gas measurement were analyzed. Then, domestic and foreign natural gas measurement technologies were analyzed and compared from the aspects of measurement technological standard system, measuring instrument application technology, custody transfer metering mode in natural gas trade, measurement value traceability system and measurement management. Finally, the development of domestic natural gas flow metering technologies was summarized and predicted. And the following research results were obtained. First, natural gas measurement is a kind of large-quantity dynamic gas measurement with compressible medium, and the measurement result is derived from the flow rate, composition, temperature, pressure and other data under working conditions. Therefore, the accuracy of the measurement results cannot be guaranteed unless each basic data is measured accurately. Second, a natural gas measurement technology system has been established in China, including measurement laws and regulations, measurement technological standards and specifications, measurement value traceability technology, measuring tool application technology and measurement management system. Third, with the high-quality rapid development of domestic natural gas industry, China's natural gas measurement technology system will get improved continuously and be in line with international standards further. The guarantee for the reliability of measuring instrument may be transformed from compulsory verification to traceability based on verification or calibration, and the nationalization process of measuring tools will be sped up. In addition, the metering mode in natural gas trade will be changed greatly from volume measurement to energy measurement. In conclusion, China's natural gas measurement technology system basically guarantees the rapid development of its natural gas industry, but it still needs further improvement and completion.

Analysis on accident-causing factors of urban buried gas pipeline network by combining DEMATEL, ISM and BN methods

The development of natural gas industry relies on safe and dependable pipeline networks. Gas pipe leakages can easily escalate to catastrophic events and result in tremendous losses of life and property in the urban context. It is therefore imperative to reduce the risk associated with urban buried gas pipeline network using reliable theoretical accident analysis. This study addresses this issue by systematic combination of three different approaches which include decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL), interpretive structure modelling (ISM) and Bayesian network (BN). The analysis methodology follows a two-stage procedure. First, a hierarchical network model represented by a cause-effect diagram is obtained using the combined DEMATEL-ISM method, which clearly confirms the coupling relationships among various accident-causing factors and the BN structure. It also identifies the most critical factors, which enables the owner/operators of the pipeline system to make decisions regarding the allocation of security management resources to reduce risks. Next, the hierarchical network model is mapped to a BN and expert judgments are further transformed into the conditional probability distribution, in order to quantify the strength of the coupling relationships among the accident-causing system, and determine main paths resulting in system failure. Moreover, it facilitates the analysis process by updating the developed BN model with given new information. The effectiveness and applicability of the proposed model has been validated in a case study, which indicates that the model is plausible in providing explicit risk information to support better safety management by prioritizing actions to prevent interrelated accidents.

Predicting the conditions for gas hydrate formation

ABSTRACTGas hydrate is a crystalline mixture obtained from gas molecules trapped in the cavity of hydrogen bonding water. To date, an essential step in the development of natural gas industry has been the acquisition of knowledge in the operation and handling of gas under high pressure without hydrate formation. Since there are several ways to predict hydrate formation, this study investigates predicting hydrate formation using the Katz method. In addition, several new models for accurate estimation of gas hydrate formation conditions will be provided. These models are based on artificial neural network (ANN) requirements. To create the model, predictive experimental data published in books and journals, as well as data extracted from Katz graph (Katz chart), estimate the formation conditions of gas hydrate. We validate the model created with the use of various statistical parameters such as mean squared error (MSE) and R2-value. The result of these parameters in models created to predict the formation of hydrates accurately and efficiently is evaluated. In this study, our goals are to use an artificial intelligence neural network to predict the formation of gas hydrates.

Opportunities and challenges of natural gas development and utilization in China

In the background that the China government robustly advocates low carbon and green energy, China has turned to focus on natural gas, both production and consumption of which are soaring high these days and the role of which is gradually prominent in energy sources. But it also faces many problems. With the rapid development of natural gas in China, it has gradually formed a system of natural gas industry chain. With the aims to help promote more healthy and sustainable development of natural gas industry in the future, it is very valuable to think deeply about the past development process. This paper reviews and analyzes China’s natural gas resources, pipeline layout, and industry development status. Based on China’s specific conditions and resource characteristics, it analyzes China’s future natural gas development opportunities. Simultaneously, the analysis shows China’s natural gas production will reach 236.5 billion cubic meters by 2030 and the proportion of natural gas in the primary energy structure will reach about 15% in 2030. But in terms of current natural gas production, the supply gap is very large. Moreover, the dependence on foreign natural gas imports has continued to increase in recent years. Thus, China should continue to improve its natural gas layout and utilization system, increase investment in domestic natural gas exploration and development, strengthen core technology research, and improve its relevant laws and regulations in order to better maintain the rapid development of natural gas.

Underground coal gasification and its strategic significance to the development of natural gas industry in China

Abstract Based on the present situation and trend of underground coal gasification in China and overseas, this article puts forward the basic concept, mechanism and mode of underground coal gasification, and presents the challenges, development potential and development path now faced. In China, underground coal gasification which is in accord with the clean utilization of coal can produce “artificial gas”, which provides a new strategic approach to supply methane and hydrogen with Chinese characteristics before new energy sources offer large-scale supply. Coal measure strata in oil-bearing basins are developed in China, with 3.77 trillion tons coal reserves for the buried depth of 1 000−3 000 m. It is initially expected that the amount of natural gas resources from underground coal gasification to be 272−332 trillion cubic meters, which are about triple the sum of conventional natural gas, or equivalent to the total unconventional natural gas resources. According to the differences of coal reaction mechanism and product composition of underground coal gasification, the underground coal gasification can be divided into three development modes, hydrogen-rich in shallow, methane-rich in medium and deep, supercritical hydrogen-rich in deep. Beyond the scope of underground mining of coal enterprises, petroleum and petrochemical enterprises can take their own integration advantages of technologies, pipeline, market and so on, to develop underground coal gasification business based on their different needs and technical maturity, to effectively exploit a large amount of coal resources cleanly and to alleviate the tight supply of natural gas. It can also be combined with using the produced hydrogen in nearby area and the CO2 flooding and storage in adjacent oil areas to create a demonstration zone for net zero emissions of petroleum and petrochemical recycling economy. It is significant for reserving resources and technologies for the coming “hydrogen economy” era, and opening up a new path for China’s “clean, low carbon, safe and efficient” modern energy system construction.

An overview of the natural gas sector in Tanzania - Achievements and challenges

In the recent years, Tanzania has discovered a lot of natural gas reserves which are expected to influence positively the socio-economic and political development of the nation. It provides the potential opportunities to government, domestic and foreign companies and thelocal community. However, the main objective of any natural resource management is to assist the country to realizethe actual economic growth of its people. This paper, therefore, is intended to provide the overview of the natural gas sector in Tanzania. It analyses natural gas history, reserves, extraction and supply; infrastructure; market and pricing; and it moreover, evaluates the achievements and challenges facing the natural gas industry development.

Establishment of coal-derived gas geological theory and its strategic significance to the development of natural gas industry in China

Establishment of coal-derived gas geological theory and its strategic significance to the development of natural gas industry in China

Challenges to and proposals for underground gas storage (UGS) business in China

Underground gas storage (UGS) is one of the major storage and peak-shaving means in the world among numerous storage ways via gas fields, small-scale LNG, etc. With the rapid development of natural gas industry in China, the seasonal peak-shaving issues are increasingly prominent, so how to achieve sustainable development of UGS business has become a major problem at present. In view of this, we studied the present status and trend of UGS development abroad and analyzed the following challenges encountered by UGS in China. (1) UGS construction falls behind the world and peak-shaving capacity is insufficient. (2) There is lack of quality gas sources for storage and the complicated geological conditions make the cost of UGS construction high. (3) UGS construction is still at the preliminary stage, so experience is not enough in safety and scientific operation and management. (4) UGS construction, management and operation are not unified as a whole, so its maximum efficiency fails to be exerted. (5) The economic benefit of UGS is difficult to be shown without independent cost accounting. Based on the experience of other countries, some proposals were put forward on UGS development under the actual present situation: to strengthen strategic UGS layout, intensify storage site screening in key areas and steadily promote UGS construction; to establish professional UGS technical and management teams and intensify the research of key technologies; and to set up a complete and rationally-distributed UGS construction, operation and management system.

China's natural gas exploration and development strategies under the new normal

China's natural gas industry has experienced a great leap-forward development in the past decade. Since the second half of 2014, however, international oil price has dropped sharply and global oil and gas markets have been sluggish. In China, economy growth rate slows down and resource environments tend to be more restricted. And energy production and consumption revolution speed up, and the development of natural gas industry experience profound changes internally and externally. Through review on the achievements in recent high-speed development and analysis on the future development of China's natural gas industry, it is believed that the growth rates of China's natural gas output and consumption will slow down and the supply and demand fundamentals present loose states. Low-permeability tight, deep–extra deep and unconventional reservoirs will be the principal targets of natural gas exploration and development and the tendency of resource deterioration is inevitable. The pressure to the decrease of gas price rises due to the sustained recession of oil price and the sharp decrease of alternative energy price. The normal means to increase benefits is to control investment strictly and reduce cost greatly. As for the new normal, five suggestions are proposed for natural gas exploration and development in China. Firstly, reinforce exploration continuously by guaranteeing work load and investment at the required level, and tamp the development basis. Secondly, pay much attention to early development evaluation, give prominence to plan implementation design and control productivity construction rhythm. Thirdly, pay attention to the top-level design of mature gas field development and adjustment, with fine description and management as the priority, and improve overall development level. Fourthly, strengthen the researches on exploration and development technologies, with the simplification and practicability of technologies as the focus, and reduce the cost effectively. And fifthly, summarize high-speed development experience of natural gas industry, pay attention to the demonstration and design of key indicators, and strengthen the study on progressive planning.

Prospects of and challenges to natural gas industry development in China

An unprecedented breakthrough has been made over the past decades in natural gas industry, which helps improve energy mix and promote the low-carbon economy in China. With such abundant hydrocarbon resources, China owns two intensive oil and gas producing blocks in the Ordos Basin and Xinjiang province and two other concentrated gas producing blocks in Sichuan and Western South Sea. In addition, arterial gas lines have been connected as a gas grid all over China and natural gas market has become more and more mature and expanded. Thus, a natural gas industry system has come into being. However, with natural gas unevenly scattering all across China, the remnant resources mainly are distributed in the stratigraphic strata, deep strata in superimposed basins or in mature exploration zones, foreland basin thrust belts, marine gas fields, and so on. In reality, the future gas exploration should focus on such domains as the weathered crust karst reservoirs or carbonate and stratigraphic traps, deep clastic gas layers, and unconventional oil and gas plays. Achievements have been made in marine shale gas exploration, CBM gas steady development, and other unconventional natural gas resources. From the perspective of exploration potential, more giant oil and gas fields will be possibly discovered in deep strata or deep sea water, and stratigraphic hydrocarbon reservoirs and tight oil and gas reservoirs will also be the exploration focus. With the increase of exploration depth and degree, the overall oil and gas exploration cost will be significantly rising in general. New discoveries or reserves increase in natural gas exploration will highly depend upon research theory and technology progress, and such development technologies as 3D seismic survey, horizontal drilling and fracturing treatment will be more highlighted. Through enhancing the cost in natural gas exploration and development and strengthening the research of core technologies, natural gas industry will keep the trend of rapid growth in near future in China.

Research on the Technology for Stable Production of Weathering Crust Carbonate Gas Reservoir of Jingbian Gas Field in China

Carbonate gas reservoir plays an important role in the development of natural gas industry and its output accounts for about 30% of total output in China. Jingbian gas reservoir is the first supergiant carbonate gas field in China. By the end of 2013, the cumulative gas production of Jingbian is 654.3×108m3. That is to say Jingbian gas field has remained stable production of 50×108m3 scale for more than 10 years(Jia Ailin, 2012). Because of the cutting action of different scale troughs to formation and no uniform corrosion process to reservoir, gas field shows strong heterogeneity. On the other hand, the structure amplitude of gas reservoir is low and formation water is not active. On the whole, Jingbian gas field is a weathering crust stratigraphic – lithological reservoir(Denis Lavoie, 2011). At present, gas reservoir has entered the later period of development. The gas reservoir stable production faces three problems. Firstly, the formation pressure is low in the middle and high yield region. Secondly, the producing degree of reserves is very unevenly distributed. Lastly, intermittent wells are increasing and the productivity of gas well is low. Aiming at these problems, the stable production technology series are formed. These techniques include fine gas reservoir description, infilling adjustment, horizontal well development, booster development and fine gas reservoir management. These techniques will provide strong support for the long-term stable production and efficient development of Jingbian gas field.