Numerical Investigation of Depressurization through Horizontal Wells in Methane-Hydrate-Bearing Sediments Considering Sand Production
Sand production has been identified as a key reason limiting sustained and commercial gas production in methane-hydrate-bearing sediments. Production tests in Canada and Japan were terminated partially because of excessive sand production in pilot wells. It is meaningful to carry out numerical inves...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/11/1777 |
| _version_ | 1797464891771060224 |
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| author | Xuyang Guo Yan Jin Jingyu Zi Jiaying Lin Bolong Zhu Qian Wen Qi Jing |
| author_facet | Xuyang Guo Yan Jin Jingyu Zi Jiaying Lin Bolong Zhu Qian Wen Qi Jing |
| author_sort | Xuyang Guo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sand production has been identified as a key reason limiting sustained and commercial gas production in methane-hydrate-bearing sediments. Production tests in Canada and Japan were terminated partially because of excessive sand production in pilot wells. It is meaningful to carry out numerical investigations and sensitivity analyses to improve the understanding of sand production mechanisms during the exploitation of methane hydrates. This study introduces a numerical model to describe the coupled thermal–hydraulic–mechanical–chemical responses and sand production patterns during horizontal well depressurization in methane-hydrate-bearing sediments. The model is benchmarked with a variety of methane hydrate reservoir simulators. Results show that the spatial and temporal evolution patterns of multi-physical fields are different and the hydromechanical evolutions are the fastest. Gas production and sand production rates are oscillatory in the early stages and long-term rates become stable. Gas production is sensitive to rock physical and operational parameters and insensitive to rock mechanical properties such as cohesion. In contrast, sand production is sensitive to cohesion and insensitive to rock physical and operational parameters. Although cohesion does not directly affect gas productivity, gas productivity can be impaired if excessive sand production impedes production operations. This study provides insights into the sand production mechanism and quantifies how relevant parameters affect sand production during the depressurization in methane-hydrate-bearing sediments. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:13:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-49cbb473f13d45b5a1642fbe84e10eea |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1312 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:13:41Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-49cbb473f13d45b5a1642fbe84e10eea2023-11-24T08:52:46ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122022-11-011011177710.3390/jmse10111777Numerical Investigation of Depressurization through Horizontal Wells in Methane-Hydrate-Bearing Sediments Considering Sand ProductionXuyang Guo0Yan Jin1Jingyu Zi2Jiaying Lin3Bolong Zhu4Qian Wen5Qi Jing6College of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing 102249, ChinaCollege of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing 102249, ChinaCollege of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing 102249, ChinaCollege of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing 102249, ChinaCollege of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing 102249, ChinaBeijing Gas Group Co., Ltd., Beijing 100034, ChinaBeijing Gas Energy Development Co., Ltd., Beijing 100012, ChinaSand production has been identified as a key reason limiting sustained and commercial gas production in methane-hydrate-bearing sediments. Production tests in Canada and Japan were terminated partially because of excessive sand production in pilot wells. It is meaningful to carry out numerical investigations and sensitivity analyses to improve the understanding of sand production mechanisms during the exploitation of methane hydrates. This study introduces a numerical model to describe the coupled thermal–hydraulic–mechanical–chemical responses and sand production patterns during horizontal well depressurization in methane-hydrate-bearing sediments. The model is benchmarked with a variety of methane hydrate reservoir simulators. Results show that the spatial and temporal evolution patterns of multi-physical fields are different and the hydromechanical evolutions are the fastest. Gas production and sand production rates are oscillatory in the early stages and long-term rates become stable. Gas production is sensitive to rock physical and operational parameters and insensitive to rock mechanical properties such as cohesion. In contrast, sand production is sensitive to cohesion and insensitive to rock physical and operational parameters. Although cohesion does not directly affect gas productivity, gas productivity can be impaired if excessive sand production impedes production operations. This study provides insights into the sand production mechanism and quantifies how relevant parameters affect sand production during the depressurization in methane-hydrate-bearing sediments.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/11/1777methane hydratenumerical simulationmethane productionhydrate dissociationdepressurization |
| spellingShingle | Xuyang Guo Yan Jin Jingyu Zi Jiaying Lin Bolong Zhu Qian Wen Qi Jing Numerical Investigation of Depressurization through Horizontal Wells in Methane-Hydrate-Bearing Sediments Considering Sand Production Journal of Marine Science and Engineering methane hydrate numerical simulation methane production hydrate dissociation depressurization |
| title | Numerical Investigation of Depressurization through Horizontal Wells in Methane-Hydrate-Bearing Sediments Considering Sand Production |
| title_full | Numerical Investigation of Depressurization through Horizontal Wells in Methane-Hydrate-Bearing Sediments Considering Sand Production |
| title_fullStr | Numerical Investigation of Depressurization through Horizontal Wells in Methane-Hydrate-Bearing Sediments Considering Sand Production |
| title_full_unstemmed | Numerical Investigation of Depressurization through Horizontal Wells in Methane-Hydrate-Bearing Sediments Considering Sand Production |
| title_short | Numerical Investigation of Depressurization through Horizontal Wells in Methane-Hydrate-Bearing Sediments Considering Sand Production |
| title_sort | numerical investigation of depressurization through horizontal wells in methane hydrate bearing sediments considering sand production |
| topic | methane hydrate numerical simulation methane production hydrate dissociation depressurization |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/11/1777 |
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