Stress dependent gas-water relative permeability in gas hydrates: A theoretical model

Gang Lei, Qinzhuo Liao, Qiliang Lin, Liangliang Zhang, Liang Xue, Weiqin Chen

Abstract view|909|times       PDF download|444|times

Abstract


        

Research activities are currently being conducted to study multiphase flow in hydrate-bearing sediments (HBS). In this study, in view of the assumption that hydrates are evenly distributed in HBS with two major hydrate-growth patterns, i.e., pore filling hydrates (PF hydrates), wall coating hydrates (WC hydrates) and a combination of the two, a theoretical relative  permeability model is proposed for gas-water flow through HBS. Besides, in this proposed model, the change in pore structure (e.g., pore radius) of HBS due to effective stress is taken into account. Then, model validation is performed by comparing the predicted results from the derived model with that from the existing model and test data. By setting the value of hydrate saturation to zero, our derived model can be reducible to the existing model, which demonstrates that the existing model is a special case of our model. The results reveal that, under the same saturation, relative permeability to water Krw (or gas Krg) in PF hydrates is smaller than that in WC hydrates. Moreover, the morphological characteristics of relative permeability curve (relative permeability versus gas saturation) for WC hydrate and PF hydrate are different.

Cited as: Lei, G., Liao, Q., Lin, Q., Zhang, L., Xue, L. Chen, W. Stress dependent gas-water relative permeability in gas hydrates: A theoretical model. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2020, 4(3): 326-338, doi: 10.46690/ager.2020.03.10


Keywords


Hydrate-bearing sediments, hydrate-growth pattern, fractal, relative permeability, stress dependent

Full Text:

PDF

References


Aya, I., Yamane, K., Nariai, H. Solubility of CO2 and density of CO2 hydrate at 30 MPa. Energy 1997, 22(2): 263-271.

Berge, L.I., Jacobsen, K.A., Solstad, A. Measured acoustic wave velocities of R11 (CCl3F) hydrate samples with and without sand as a function of hydrate concentration. J. Geophys. Res. 1999, 104(7): 15415-15424.

Cui, Y., Lu, C., Wu, M., et al. Review of exploration and production technology of natural gas hydrate. Adv. Geo-Energy Res. 2018, 2(1): 53-62.

Dai, S., Santamarina, J.C., Waite, W.F., et al. Hydrate morphology: Physical properties of sands with patchy hydrate saturation. J. Geophys. Res. 2012, 117(B11): B11205.

Daigle, H. Relative permeability to water or gas in the presence of hydrates in porous media from critical path analysis. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 2016, 146: 526-535.

Delli, M., Grozic, J. Experimental determination of permeability of porous media in the presence of gas hydrates. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 2014, 120: 1-9.

Delli, M., Grozic, J. Prediction performance of permeability models in gas-hydrate-bearing sands. SPE J. 2013, 18(2): 274-284.

Dickens, G.R. Rethinking the global carbon cycle with a large, dynamic and microbially mediated gas hydrate capacitor. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 2003, 213(3): 169-183.

Ehrlich, R. Viscous coupling in two-phase flow in porous media and its effect on relative permeabilities. Transp. Porous Media 1993, 11(3): 201-218.

Fini, A., Garuti, M., Fazio, G., et al. Diclofenac salts. I. Fractal and thermal analysis of sodium and potassium diclofenac salts. J. Pharm. Sci. 2001, 90(12): 2049-2057.

Gallage, C., Kodikara, J., Uchimura, T. Laboratory measurement of hydraulic conductivity functions of two unsaturated sandy soils during drying and wetting processes. Soils Found. 2013, 53(3): 417-430.

Gupta, S., Deusner, C., Haeckel, M., et al. Testing a thermochemohydro-geomechanical model for gas hydratebearing sediments using triaxial compression laboratory experiments. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 2017, 18(9): 3419-3437.

Helgerud, M.B. Wave speeds in gas hydrate and sediments containing gas hydrate: A laboratory and modeling study. Stanford, Stanford University, 2001.

Jaiswal, N.J., Dandekar, A.Y., Patil, S.L., et al. Relative permeability measurements of gas-water-hydrate systems, in Natural Gas Hydrates: Energy Resource Potential and Associated Geologic Hazard: AAPG Memoir 89, edited by T. Collett, A. Johnson and C. Knapp, et al., Tulsa, Oklahoma, pp. 723-733, 2009.

Ji, X., Chan, S., Feng, N. Fractal model for simulating the space-filling process of cement hydrates and fractal dimensions of pore structure of cement-based materials. Cem. Concr. Res. 1997, 27(11): 1691-1699.

Johnson, A., Patil, S., Dandekar, A. Experimental investigation of gas-water relative permeability for gas-hydrate-bearing sediments from the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope. Mar. Pet. Geol. 2011, 28(2): 419-426.

Joseph, J., Singh, D.N., Kumar, P., et al. State-of-the-art of gas hydrates and relative permeability of hydrate bearing sediments. Mar. Georesour. Geotechnol. 2016, 34(5): 450-464.

Kang, D.H., Yun, T.S., Kim, K.Y., et al. Effect of hydrate nucleation mechanisms and capillarity on permeability reduction in granular media. Geophys. Res. Lett. 2016, 43(17): 9018-9025.

Kirchmeyer, W., Wyttenbach, N., Alsenz, J., et al. Influence of excipients on solvent-mediated hydrate formation of piroxicam studied by dynamic imaging and fractal analysis. Cryst. Growth Des. 2015, 15(10): 5002-5010.

Kleinberg, R.L., Flaum, C., Griffin, D.D., et al. Deep sea NMR: Methane hydrate growth habit in porous media and its relationship to hydraulic permeability, deposit accumulation, and submarine slope stability. J. Geophys. Res. 2003, 108(B10): 2508.

Kumar, A., Maini, B., Bishnoi, P.R., et al. Experimental determination of permeability in the presence of hydrates and its effect on the dissociation characteristics of gas hydrates in porous media. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 2010, 70(1): 114-122.

Kvenvolden, K.A. A primer on the geological occurrence of gas hydrate. Geol. Soc. Lond Spec. Publ. 1998, 137(1): 9-30.

Kvenvolden, K.A. Methane hydrate-a major reservoir of carbon in the shallow geosphere? Chem. Geol. 1988, 71(1-3): 41-51.

Lee, H.J., Lee, J.D., Linga, P., et al. Gas hydrate formation process for pre-combustion capture of carbon dioxide. Energy 2010, 35(6): 2729-2733.

Lee, J., Lee, J., Kim, Y., et al. Stress-dependent and strength properties of gas hydrate-bearing marine sediments from the Ulleung Basin, East Sea, Korea. Mar. Pet. Geol. 2013, 47: 66-76.

Lei, G., Dong, P.C., Mo, S.Y., et al. A novel fractal model for two-phase relative permeability in porous media. Fractals 2015, 23(2): 1550017.

Lei, G., Dong, Z., Li, W., et al. A theoretical study on stress sensitivity of fractal porous media with irreducible water. Fractals 2017, 26(1): 1850004.

Lei, G., Li, W., Wen, Q. The convective heat transfer of fractal porous media under stress condition. Int. J. Therm. Sci. 2019, 137: 55-63.

Lei, G., Liao, Q., Patil, S., et al. Effect of clay content on permeability behavior of argillaceous porous media under stress dependence: A theoretical and experimental work. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 2019, 179: 787-795.

Li, C., Zhao, Q., Xu, H., et al. Relation between relative permeability and hydrate saturation in Shenhu area, South China Sea. Appl. Geophys. 2014, 11(2): 207-214.

Liang, H., Song, Y., Chen, Y., et al. The measurement of permeability of porous media with methane hydrate. Pet. Sci. Technol. 2011, 29(1): 79-87.

Liu, L., Dai, S., Ning, F., et al. Fractal characteristics of unsaturated sands-implications to relative permeability in hydrate-bearing sediments. J. Nat. Gas Sci. Eng. 2019, 66: 11-17.

Liu, L., Zhang, X., Lu, X. Review on the permeability of hydrate-bearing sediments. Adv. Earth Sci. 2012, 27(7): 733-746.

Liu, L., Zhang, Z., Li, C., et al. Hydrate growth in quartzitic sands and implication of pore fractal characteristics to hydraulic, mechanical, and electrical properties of hydrate-bearing sediments. J. Nat. Gas Sci. Eng. 2020, 75: 103109.

Liu, W., Wu, Z., Li, Y., et al. Experimental study on the gas phase permeability of methane hydrate-bearing clayey sediments. J. Nat. Gas Sci. Eng. 2016, 36: 378-384.

Mahabadi, N., Dai, S., Seol, Y., et al. The water retention curve and relative permeability for gas production from hydrate-bearing sediments: pore-network model simulation. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 2016, 17(8): 3099-3110.

Mahabadi, N., Zheng, X., Jang, J. The effect of hydrate saturation on water retention curves in hydrate-bearing sediments. Geophys. Res. Lett. 2016, 43(9): 4279-4287.

Masuda, Y. Numerical calculation of gas production performance from reservoirs containing natural gas hydrates. Paper SPE 38291 Presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference, San Antonio, Texas, October, 1997.

Minagawa, H., Ohmura, R., Kamata, Y., et al. Water permeability of porous media containing methane hydrate as controlled by the methane-hydrate growth process, in Natural Gas Hydrates: Energy Resource Potential and Associated Geologic Hazard: AAPG Memoir 89, edited by T. Collett, A. Johnson and C. Knapp, et al., Tulsa, Oklahoma, pp. 734-739, 2009.

Nimblett, J., Ruppel, C. Permeability evolution during the formation of gas hydrates in marine sediments. J. Geophys. Res. 2003, 108(B9): 2420.

Odeh, A.S. Effect of viscosity ratio on relative permeability (includes associated paper 1496-G). Trans. AIME 1959, 216(1): 346-353.

Ordonez, C., Grozic, J.L.H., Chen, J. Hydraulic conductivity of Ottawa sand specimens containing R-11 gas hydrates. Paper Presented at the 62nd Canadian Geotechnical Conference, Halifax, 2009.

Waite, W.F., Santamarina, J.C., Cortes, D.D., et al. Physical properties of hydrate-bearing sediments. Rev. Geophys. 2009, 47: RG4003.

Wang, J., Zhao, J., Zhang, Y., et al. Analysis of the influence of wettability on permeability in hydrate-bearing porous media using pore network models combined with computed tomography. J. Nat. Gas Sci. Eng. 2015, 26: 1372-1379.

Shad, S., Gates, I.D. Multiphase flow in fractures: co-current and counter-current flow in a fracture. J. Can. Pet. Technol. 2008, 49(2): 48-55.

Singh, H. Representative elementary volume (REV) in spatio-temporal domain: a method to find REV for dynamic pores. J. Earth Sci. 2017, 28(2): 391-403.

Singh, H., Mahabadi, N., Myshakin, E.M., et al. A mechanistic model for relative permeability of gas and water flow in hydrate-bearing porous media with capillarity. Water Resour. Res. 2019, 55(4): 3414-3432.

Singh, H., Myshakin, E.M., Seol, Y. A nonempirical relative permeability model for hydrate-bearing sediments. SPE J. 2019, 24(2): 547-562.

Sloan, E.D. Gas hydrates: Review of physical/chemical properties. Energy Fuels 1998, 12(2): 191-196.

Stoll, R.D., Bryan, G.M. Physical properties of sediments containing gas hydrates. J. Geophys. Res. 1979, 84(B4): 1629-1634.

Sun, Y., Lu, H., Lu, C., et al. Hydrate dissociation induced by gas diffusion from pore water to drilling fluid in a cold wellbore. Adv. Geo-Energy Res. 2018, 2(4): 410-417.

Tajima, H., Yamasaki, A., Kiyono, F. Energy consumption estimation for greenhouse gas separation processes by clathrate hydrate formation. Energy 2004, 29(11): 1713-1729.

Terzariol, M., Goldsztein, G., Santamarina, J.C. Maximum recoverable gas from hydrate bearing sediments by depressurization. Energy 2017, 141: 1622-1628.

Xu, P., Qiu, S., Yu, B., et al. Prediction of relative permeability in unsaturated porous media with a fractal approach. Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 2013, 64: 829-837.

Yang, L., Ai, L., Xue, K., et al. Analyzing the effects of inhomogeneity on the permeability of porous media containing methane hydrates through pore network models combined with CT observation. Energy 2018, 163: 27-37.

Yousif, M.H., Abass, H.H., Selim, M.S., et al. Experimental and theoretical investigation of methane-gas-hydrate dissociation in porous media. SPE Reserv. Eng. 1991, 6(1): 69-76.

Yu, B., Cheng, P. A fractal permeability model for bi-dispersed porous media. Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 2002, 45(14): 2983-2993.

Yu, B., Li, J. Some fractal characters of porous media. Fractals 2001, 9(3): 365-372.

Yu, B., Li, J., Li, Z., et al. Permeabilities of unsaturated fractal porous media. Int. J. Multiph. Flow 2003, 29(10): 1625-1642.

Zhang, W., Ye, J., Wang, Y., et al. Pore structure and surface fractal characteristics of calcium silicate hydrates contained organic macromolecule. J. Chin. Ceram. Soc. 2006, 34(12): 1497-1502.

Zhang, Z., Li, C., Ning, F., et al. Pore fractal characteristics of hydrate-bearing sands and implications to the saturated water permeability. J. Geophys. Res. 2020, 125(3): e2019JB018721.

Zhao, Y., Guo, K., Liang, D., et al. Formation process and fractal growth model of HCFC-141b refrigerant gas hydrate. Sci. China-Chem. 2002, 45(2): 216-224.

Zheng, R., Li, S., Li, Q., et al. Study on the relations between controlling mechanisms and dissociation front of gas hydrate reservoirs. Appl. Energy 2018, 215: 405-415.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.46690/ager.2020.03.10

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2020 The Author(s)

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Copyright ©2018. All Rights Reserved