Application of fracturing technology to increase gas production in low-permeability hydrate reservoir: A numerical study

doi:10.1016/j.cjche.2020.07.019

Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering ›› 2021, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (6): 267-277.DOI: 10.1016/j.cjche.2020.07.019

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Application of fracturing technology to increase gas production in low-permeability hydrate reservoir: A numerical study

Peng-Fei Shen^1,2,3,4, Gang Li^3,4, Xiao-Sen Li^1,2,3,4, Bo Li^1,2, Jin-Ming Zhang^3,4

1 State Key Laboratory of Coal Mine Disaster Dynamics and Control, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China;
2 School of Resources and Safety Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China;
3 Key Laboratory of Gas Hydrate, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China;
4 Guangzhou Center for Gas Hydrate Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China

Received:2020-03-27 Revised:2020-06-14 Online:2021-08-30 Published:2021-06-28
Contact: Xiao-Sen Li, Bo Li
Supported by:
The authors are very grateful for the support of the Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (51736009), National Natural Science Foundation of China (51676196, 51976228), Guangdong Special Support Program (2019BT02L278), Frontier Sciences Key Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (QYZDJSSW-JSC033, QYZDB-SSW-JSC028, ZDBS-LY-SLH041), Science and Technology Apparatus Development Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (YZ201619), the National Key R&D Program of China (2017YFC0307306), and Special Project for Marine Economy Development of Guangdong Province (GDME-2018D002, GDME-2020D044), which are gratefully acknowledged.

Application of fracturing technology to increase gas production in low-permeability hydrate reservoir: A numerical study

Peng-Fei Shen^1,2,3,4, Gang Li^3,4, Xiao-Sen Li^1,2,3,4, Bo Li^1,2, Jin-Ming Zhang^3,4

1 State Key Laboratory of Coal Mine Disaster Dynamics and Control, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China;
2 School of Resources and Safety Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China;
3 Key Laboratory of Gas Hydrate, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China;
4 Guangzhou Center for Gas Hydrate Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China

通讯作者: Xiao-Sen Li, Bo Li
基金资助:
The authors are very grateful for the support of the Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (51736009), National Natural Science Foundation of China (51676196, 51976228), Guangdong Special Support Program (2019BT02L278), Frontier Sciences Key Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (QYZDJSSW-JSC033, QYZDB-SSW-JSC028, ZDBS-LY-SLH041), Science and Technology Apparatus Development Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (YZ201619), the National Key R&D Program of China (2017YFC0307306), and Special Project for Marine Economy Development of Guangdong Province (GDME-2018D002, GDME-2020D044), which are gratefully acknowledged.

Abstract

Abstract: Low temperature and low permeability are the challenges for the development of hydrate reservoirs in permafrost. The ice produced around the production well caused by high depressurization driving force reduces the gas production, and it is necessary to reduce the effect of ice production on gas production. In this work, a new combination of fracturing technology and depressurization method was proposed to evaluate the gas production potential at the site DK-2 in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Permafrost. A relatively higher intrinsic permeability of the fracture zone surround the horizontal production well was created by the fracturing technology. The simulation results showed that the fracture zone reduced the blocking of production ice to production wells and promoted the propagation of production pressure. And the gas production increased by 2.1 times as the radius of the fracture zone increased from 0 to 4 m in 30 years. Nearly half of the hydrate reservoirs were dissociated in 30 years, and greater than 51.7% of the gas production was produced during the first 10 years. Moreover, production behaviours were sensitive to the depressurization driving force but not to the thermal conductivity. The growth of gas production was not obvious with the intrinsic permeability of the fracture zone higher than 100 mD. The effect of ice production on gas production by fracturing technology and depressurization method was limited.

Key words: Gas hydrates, Fracturing technology, Depressurization, Low-permeability, Permafrost

摘要： Low temperature and low permeability are the challenges for the development of hydrate reservoirs in permafrost. The ice produced around the production well caused by high depressurization driving force reduces the gas production, and it is necessary to reduce the effect of ice production on gas production. In this work, a new combination of fracturing technology and depressurization method was proposed to evaluate the gas production potential at the site DK-2 in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Permafrost. A relatively higher intrinsic permeability of the fracture zone surround the horizontal production well was created by the fracturing technology. The simulation results showed that the fracture zone reduced the blocking of production ice to production wells and promoted the propagation of production pressure. And the gas production increased by 2.1 times as the radius of the fracture zone increased from 0 to 4 m in 30 years. Nearly half of the hydrate reservoirs were dissociated in 30 years, and greater than 51.7% of the gas production was produced during the first 10 years. Moreover, production behaviours were sensitive to the depressurization driving force but not to the thermal conductivity. The growth of gas production was not obvious with the intrinsic permeability of the fracture zone higher than 100 mD. The effect of ice production on gas production by fracturing technology and depressurization method was limited.

关键词: Gas hydrates, Fracturing technology, Depressurization, Low-permeability, Permafrost

Peng-Fei Shen, Gang Li, Xiao-Sen Li, Bo Li, Jin-Ming Zhang. Application of fracturing technology to increase gas production in low-permeability hydrate reservoir: A numerical study[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2021, 34(6): 267-277.

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Application of fracturing technology to increase gas production in low-permeability hydrate reservoir: A numerical study

Application of fracturing technology to increase gas production in low-permeability hydrate reservoir: A numerical study

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