1 August 2000Gulf of Mexico Hydrates R&D Workshop Proceedings

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Gulf of Mexico Hydrate R&DGulf of Mexico Hydrate R&DPlanning WorkshopPlanning Workshop

August 9-10, 2000

Dr. William C. MaurerDr. William C. Maurer

Gas Hydrate Drilling ProblemsGas Hydrate Drilling Problems

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Gas HydratesSolid Mixture of Gas and Water

(Petroleum Engineer, March 1998)

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Burning Methane Hydrate(Sloan, Jr., 1990)

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Global Gas Hydrate Locations(Collett et al., 1998)

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25

20

15

10

5

00 5 10 15 20 25

a

d

c

B

SolidHydrate

Gas &Water

Pres

sure

MPa

Temperature, C

Hydrate Dissociation Curve(Sloan Jr., 1990)

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Unstable Hydrate Decomposition(Petroleum Engineer, March 1998)

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Land Well Hydrate

Phase Diagram(Collett et al., 1998)

-10-20 0 10 20 30Temperature, C

1,600

1,400

1,200

1,000

800

600

400

200

0

Dep

th, m

Gas & WaterGas & Water

HydrateHydrate

PhaseBoundary

SedimentIceIce

Ice &Ice &HydrateHydrate

GeothermalGradient

Base of Permafrost

Base of Hydrate

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1,600

1,400

1,200

1,000

800

600

400

200

0

Dep

th, m

Offshore Well Hydrate

Phase Diagram(Collett et al., 1998)

-10-20 0 10 20 30Temperature, C

WaterTemperature

Sea Floor

PhaseBoundary

Gas & WaterGas & Water

WaterWater

HydrateHydrate

GeothermalGradient

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Producing Gas From Hydrates(Sloan Jr., 1990)

CompletionZone

PorousZoneGas Zone

Hydrate Zone

15m

Gas Well

Impermeable Rock

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Hydrate Gas Production in Russia(Makogon, 1988)

Well No 109 Well No 121 Well No 150 Well No 142 Well No 7

850

Hydrate

750

700

Dep

th, i

n m

Gas

Water

800

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Depressurization Hydrate Production

(Collett et al., 1998)

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Thermal Injection-CycleHydrate Production

(Collett et al., 1998)

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Frozen Blow Out Frozen Blow Out PreventorPreventor

Stuck PipeStuck Pipe

Drill PipeDrill Pipe

RiserRiser

Frozen DisconnectFrozen Disconnect

HydrateHydrate Enlarged HoleEnlarged Hole

Dehydrated MudDehydrated MudGas Cut MudGas Cut Mud

Plugged Choke/Kill LinesPlugged Choke/Kill Lines

Hydrate Drilling ProblemsHydrate Drilling Problems

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Gas Plume

Offshore Hydrate Blowout

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Gas

HoleEnlargement

HydrateDrilled

Hydrate Drilling Mechanism

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Problems with Enlarged HolesProblems with Enlarged Holes

Hole Cleaning

Logging

Drill Pipe Buckling

Cementing

Packers

RunningWire Line Tools

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Gas Hydrate DrillingGas Hydrate Drillingand Production Problemsand Production Problems

((CollettCollett, 2000), 2000)

Gas ReleaseGas Release

GasHydrate

Free-Gas

Gas LeakageGas Leakage

Hydrate

Free-Gas

GasLeakage

Collapsed CasingCollapsed Casing

Hydrate

Free-Gas

ProductionFacilities

CasedBorehole

CasedBorehole

ProductionOf Hot

Hydrocarbons

OpenBorehole

CollapsedCollapsedCasingCasing

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Gas hydrate is a significant hazard to drilling and production

operations

(Collett ,2000)

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It is difficult to ensure sealingwells and consequently ecological safety in hydrate deposits using traditional oil field technology

(Makogon, 1997)

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Moving Hydrate BoundaryDuring Dissociation

(Roadifer et al., 1987)Upper Boundary

Inner Boundary

--

r rwLower Boundary

Outer Boundary

YR

YgYs

re

Yo

YDS

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40

30

20

10

00 20 40 60 80 100

Radius (feet)

Tem

pera

ture

(de

gree

F)

Temperature Profile in Dissociation Zone(Roadifer et al., 1987)

5 hours

12 hours

24 hours

48 hours

Well Depth 3000 ftWell Depth 3000 ft

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Factors Increasing Gas Flow RateFactors Increasing Gas Flow Rate((Roadifer Roadifer et al., 1987)et al., 1987)

Increased mud temperature Reduced mud weight Increased wellbore diameter Increased hydrate thickness

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Mud and Gas

Drillship

Drillpipe

Riser

SeafloorWellhead

HydrateHole

Enlargement

Seawater

Warm mud

RiserDrilling

Pump

Cool water

DrillpipeDrilling

Offshore Hydrate Drilling Systems

Insulatedpipe

SeafloorRig

Control Boat

Powercable

SubseaCT Rig

Cold waterDrillpipe

Pump

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Power Cable

Submarine

Seawater

Drilling Rig

Buoyancychamber

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Stopping BlowoutStopping Blowoutwith Hydrate Plugswith Hydrate Plugs

((MakogonMakogon, 1997), 1997)

G Strong flow of gas

Relief well

Cold waterinjection

Hydrate plugs

Connection point (1000m)

Debris in craterW

G

700m

500m

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Well LogGeologic

Cross Section(Collett et al., 1998)

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Hydrate Drilling RecommendationsHydrate Drilling Recommendations

Fund hydrate drilling R&D immediately Focus on safety and reducing costs Document Russian drilling technology Develop improved computer models Conduct experiments in oil and gas wells Develop inexpensive seafloor coring system

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Contents