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Natural Gas Hydrate Production Technology and Rock Mechanics in Petroleum Engineering (Volume II)

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A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 March 2025 | Viewed by 10898

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Dr. Chuanliang Yan

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Guest Editor

School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Interests: natural gas hydrate production; rock mechanics; hydraulic fracturing; petroleum engineering
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Dr. Kai Zhao

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Guest Editor

College of Petroleum Engineering, Xi’an Shiyou University, Xi’an 710065, China
Interests: rock mechanics; wellbore stability; hydraulic fracturing
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Prof. Dr. Fucheng Deng

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School of Mechanical Engineering, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, China
Interests: natural gas hydrate production; rock mechanics; sand production; petroleum engineering
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Dr. Yang Li

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Guest Editor

School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Interests: natural gas hydrate production; rock mechanics; wellbore stability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is the second volume of "Natural Gas Hydrate Production Technology and Rock Mechanics in Petroleum Engineering.

Global natural gas hydrate organic carbon reserves are about twice those of oil, natural gas, and coal combined, making it an important potential efficient clean replacement energy source for oil and gas. In recent years, the United States, Canada, Japan, China, and other countries have carried out natural gas hydrate production tests and achieved a series of advances, vigorously promoting the process of commercial production of natural gas hydrate. However, because of the difficulty of gas hydrate production, it is very important to continue research into its production technology to realize the commercial production of gas hydrate as soon as possible.

With the development of the oil and gas industry to deep and unconventional areas, and the concept of geology–engineering integration, rock mechanics are playing an increasingly important role in solving the problems related to petroleum engineering. At the same time, rock mechanics also play an important role in the production of natural gas hydrate due to the weak cementation characteristics of hydrate reservoirs.

This Special Issue entitled Natural Gas Hydrate Production Technology and Rock Mechanics in Petroleum Engineering (Volume II) seeks high-quality work focusing on the latest novel advances in the production technology of natural gas hydrate and rock mechanics in petroleum engineering. Topics include, but are not limited to:

• New concepts, theories, methods, experiments, and techniques in natural gas hydrate exploration, drilling, and development.

• Pilot tests and field applications for natural gas hydrates.

• Geomechanics of the wellbore, the reservoir, or the overlying layers. These problems include wellbore stability, sand production, hydraulic fracturing, and caprock integrity, among others.

Dr. Chuanliang Yan
Dr. Kai Zhao
Prof. Dr. Fucheng Deng
Dr. Yang Li
Guest Editors

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Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

natural gas hydrate
production technology
geomechanics
rock mechanics
petroleum engineering
wellbore stability
hydraulic fracturing
sand production

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Natural Gas Hydrate Production Technology and Rock Mechanics in Petroleum Engineering in Processes (15 articles)

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Research

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17 pages, 11916 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Stability Characteristics of Natural Gas Hydrate Wellbores Based on Thermo-Hydro-Mech Modeling

by Shihui Sun, Xiaohan Zhang and Yunjian Zhou

Processes 2024, 12(10), 2196; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12102196 - 9 Oct 2024

Viewed by 795

Abstract

During drilling operations, drilling fluids undergo heat exchange with hydrate-bearing formations. The intrusion of drilling fluids affects hydrate stability, leading to variations in stress fields around a wellbore and complex scenarios such as borehole collapse, significantly hindering the efficient development of natural gas hydrate resources. This study establishes a thermo-hydro-mech model for hydrate-bearing inclined wells based on linear thermoelastic porous media theory and an appropriately high inhibitive drilling fluid temperature. This research reveals that drilling should follow directions of minimum horizontal stress or perpendicular to maximum horizontal stress during drilling operations to control wellbore stability. Hydrate decomposition due to factors like drilling fluid pressure and temperature can rapidly reduce the strength of low-saturation formations, significantly increasing the risk of wellbore instability. Therefore, selecting appropriate highly inhibitive and low-temperature drilling fluids during drilling operations helps control hydrate decomposition and reduce fluid intrusion, thereby mitigating risks associated with wellbore instability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Gas Hydrate Production Technology and Rock Mechanics in Petroleum Engineering (Volume II))

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12 pages, 2770 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental Study on the Transport Behavior of Micron-Sized Sand Particles in a Wellbore

by Huizeng Zhang, Zhiming Yin, Yingwen Ma, Mingchun Wang, Bin Wang, Chengcheng Xiao, Tie Yan and Jingyu Qu

Processes 2024, 12(10), 2075; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12102075 - 25 Sep 2024

Viewed by 419

Abstract

In the process of natural gas hydrate extraction, especially in offshore hydrate extraction, the multiphase flow inside the wellbore is complex and prone to flow difficulties caused by reservoir sand production, leading to pipeline blockage accidents, posing a threat to the safety of hydrate extraction. This paper presents experimental research on the migration characteristics of micrometer-sized sand particles entering the wellbore, detailing the influence of key parameters such as sand particle size, sand ratio, wellbore deviation angle, fluid velocity, and fluid viscosity on the sand bed height. It establishes a predictive model for the deposition height of micrometer-sized sand particles. The model’s predicted results align well with experimental findings, and under the experimental conditions of this study, the model’s average prediction error for the sand bed height is 12.47%, indicating that the proposed model demonstrates a high level of accuracy in predicting the bed height. The research results can serve as a practical basis and engineering guidance for reducing the risk of natural gas hydrate and sand blockages, determining reasonable extraction procedures, and ensuring the safety of wellbore flow. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Gas Hydrate Production Technology and Rock Mechanics in Petroleum Engineering (Volume II))

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26 pages, 8057 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of Thermal Insulation of Vacuum-Insulated Casing to Prevent Uncontrollable Melting of Ice and Borehole Instability in Permafrost

by Xiaohui Zhou, Yinao Su, Yuanfang Cheng and Qingchao Li

Processes 2024, 12(7), 1389; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12071389 - 3 Jul 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 808

Abstract

During oil and gas development in permafrost, hot fluids within the wellbore can cause ice melting around wellbore and a decrease in sediment strength, as well as wellbore instability. In the present work, the experimental system for evaluating the insulation effectiveness was established, and the applicability of this experimental system and methodology was verified. It was found that the difference between the experimentally obtained and actual thermal conductivity of the ordinary casings are all within 1.0 W/(m·°C). Meanwhile, the evaluation of insulation effect found that the decrease in fluid temperature, ambient temperature, and vacuum degree can improve its insulation performance. Finally, the numerical simulation was conducted on ice melting and borehole stability during the drilling operation in permafrost. The investigation results demonstrate that the use of vacuum-insulated casings significantly reduces the total heat transferred during the simulation by 86.72% compared to the ordinary casing. The utilization of vacuum-insulated casing reduces the range of ice melting around wellbore to only 16%, which occurs when using ordinary casing. The use of the vacuum-insulated casing resulted in a reduction in the final borehole enlargement rate from 52.1% to 4.2%, and wellbore instability was effectively suppressed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Gas Hydrate Production Technology and Rock Mechanics in Petroleum Engineering (Volume II))

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23 pages, 13280 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on Numerical Simulation of Formation Deformation Laws Induced by Offshore Shallow Gas Blowout

by Zhiming Yin, Yingwen Ma, Xiangqian Yang, Xinjiang Yan, Zhongying Han, Yanbo Liang and Penghui Zhang

Processes 2024, 12(2), 378; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12020378 - 13 Feb 2024

Viewed by 1020

Abstract

To address the deformation and instability characteristics of a formation after an offshore shallow gas well blowout, a theoretical model of formation deformation caused by shallow gas blowouts was constructed, based on porous elastic medium theory and incorporating the sand-out erosion criterion. The spatiotemporal dynamics of formation subsidence were then investigated, and deformation patterns during a blowout were analyzed under various factors. The results indicate that, following a blowout, a shallow gas formation near a borehole experiences significant subsidence and uplift at the upper and lower ends, with the maximum subsidence values at 12 h, 24 h, 36 h, and 48 h post blowout being 0.072 m, 0.132 m, 0.164 m, and 0.193 m, respectively. The overlying rock layer forms a distinctive “funnel” shape, exhibiting maximum subsidence at the borehole, while more distant strata show uniform subsidence. The effective stress within the shallow gas stratum and surrounding rock layers increases gradually during the blowout, with lesser impact in distant areas. The ejection rate and sand blast volume demonstrate an exponential change pattern, with a rapid decline initially and later stabilization. Formation deformation correlates positively with factors like burial depth; shallow gas layer extent; pressure coefficient; sand blast volume; gas blowout rate; and bottomhole difference pressure. Formation pressure, ejection rate, and bottomhole difference pressure have the most significant impact, followed by sand blast volume and burial depth, while the extent of the shallow gas layer has a less pronounced effect. These simulation results offer valuable theoretical insights for assessing the destabilization of formations due to blowouts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Gas Hydrate Production Technology and Rock Mechanics in Petroleum Engineering (Volume II))

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31 pages, 12503 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Comprehensive Prediction Method for Pore Pressure in Abnormally High-Pressure Blocks Based on Machine Learning

by Huayang Li, Qiang Tan, Jingen Deng, Baohong Dong, Bojia Li, Jinlong Guo, Shuiliang Zhang and Weizheng Bai

Processes 2023, 11(9), 2603; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11092603 - 31 Aug 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2728

Abstract

In recent years, there has been significant research and practical application of machine learning methods for predicting reservoir pore pressure. However, these studies frequently concentrate solely on reservoir blocks exhibiting normal-pressure conditions. Currently, there exists a scarcity of research addressing the prediction of pore pressure within reservoir blocks characterized by abnormally high pressures. In light of this, the present paper introduces a machine learning-based approach to predict pore pressure within reservoir blocks exhibiting abnormally high pressures. The methodology is demonstrated using the X block as a case study. Initially, the combination of the density–sonic velocity crossplot and the Bowers method is favored for elucidating the overpressure-to-compact mechanism within the X block. The elevated pressure within the lower reservoir is primarily attributed to the pressure generated during hydrocarbon formation. The Bowers method has been chosen to forecast the pore pressure in well X-1. Upon comparison with real pore pressure data, the prediction error is found to be under 5%, thus establishing it as a representative measure of the reservoir’s pore pressure. Intelligent prediction models for pore pressure were developed using the KNN, Extra Trees, Random Forest, and LightGBM algorithms. The models utilized five categories of well logging data, sonic time difference (DT), gamma ray (GR), density (ZDEN), neutron porosity (CNCF), and well diameter (CAL), as input. After training and comparison, the results demonstrate that the LightGBM model exhibits significantly superior performance compared to the other models. Specifically, it achieves R² values of 0.935 and 0.647 on the training and test sets, respectively. The LightGBM model is employed to predict the pore pressure of two wells neighboring well X-1. Subsequently, the predicted data are juxtaposed with the actual pore pressure measurements to conduct error analysis. The achieved prediction accuracy exceeds 90%. This study delivers a comprehensive analysis of pore pressure prediction within sections exhibiting anomalously high pressure, consequently furnishing scientific insights to facilitate both secure and efficient drilling operations within the X block. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Gas Hydrate Production Technology and Rock Mechanics in Petroleum Engineering (Volume II))

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21 pages, 8997 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Plugging Experiments on Different Packing Schemes during Hydrate Exploitation by Depressurization

by Xiaolong Zhao

Processes 2023, 11(7), 2075; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11072075 - 12 Jul 2023

Viewed by 953

Abstract

Marine natural gas hydrate (NGH) can mainly be found in argillaceous fine-silt reservoirs, and is characterized by weak consolidation and low permeability. Sand production is likely to occur during the NGH production process, and fine-silt particles can easily plug the sand-control media. In view of this, experiments were conducted to assess the influence of the formation sand on the sand retention media in gravel-packed layers under gas–water mixed flow, and the plugging process was analyzed. The results show that following conclusions. (1) The quartz-sand- and ceramic-particle-packed layers show the same plugging trend, and an identical plugging law. The process can be divided into three stages: the beginning, intensified, and balanced stages of plugging. (2) The liquid discharge is a key factor influencing the plugging of gravel-packed layers during NGH exploitation by depressurization. As the discharge increases, plugging occurs in all quartz-sand packing schemes, while the ceramic-particle packing scheme still yields a high gas-flow rate. Therefore, quartz sand is not recommended as the packing medium during NGH exploitation, and the grain-size range of ceramic particles should be further optimized. (3) Due to the high mud content of NGH reservoirs, a mud cake is likely to form on the surface of the packing media, which intensifies the bridge plugging of the packed layer. These experiment results provide an important reference for the formulation and selection of sand-control schemes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Gas Hydrate Production Technology and Rock Mechanics in Petroleum Engineering (Volume II))

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16 pages, 6687 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on Wellbore Stability of Multilateral Wells under Seepage-Stress Coupling Condition Based on Finite Element Simulation

by Hao Xu, Jifei Cao, Leifeng Dong and Chuanliang Yan

Processes 2023, 11(6), 1651; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11061651 - 29 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1390

Abstract

The use of multilateral wells is an important method to effectively develop complex oil reservoirs, and wellbore stability research of multilateral wells is of great importance. In the present study, the effects of formation fluids and rock damage were not taken into account by the wellbore stability model. Therefore, finite element analysis (FEA) software was used to establish a three-dimensional (3D) seepage-stress FEA model for the multilateral junctions. The model was used to analyze the wellbore stability of multilateral wells and study influences of wellbore parameters and drilling fluid density on wellbore stability at multilateral junctions. Simulation results show that the wellbore diameter insignificantly affects wellbore stability. When the angle between the main wellbore and branches enlarges to 45°, the equivalent plastic strain decreases by 0.0726, and the wellbores become more stable; when the angle is larger than or equal to 45°, the region prone to wellbore instability transfers from the multilateral junctions to the inner of multilateral wellbores. When the azimuth of wellbores is along the direction of the minimum horizontal principal stress, the equivalent plastic strain decreases by 78.2% and the wellbores are most stable. Moreover, appropriately increasing the drilling fluid density can effectively reduce the risk of wellbore instability at the multilateral junctions. A model has been developed that allows analysis of multilateral wellbore stability under seepage-stress coupling condition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Gas Hydrate Production Technology and Rock Mechanics in Petroleum Engineering (Volume II))

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15 pages, 5973 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Numerical Simulating the Influences of Hydrate Decomposition on Wellhead Stability

by Yuanfang Cheng, Mingyu Xue, Jihui Shi, Yang Li, Chuanliang Yan, Zhongying Han and Junchao Yang

Processes 2023, 11(6), 1586; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11061586 - 23 May 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1350

Abstract

Natural gas hydrate reservoir has been identified as a new alternative energy resource which has characteristics of weak cementation, low reservoir strength and shallow overburden depth. Thus, the stability of subsea equipment and formation can be affected during the drilling process. To quantitatively assess the vertical displacement of the formation induced by hydrate decomposition and clearly identify the influence laws of various factors on wellhead stability, this study established a fully coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical (THMC) model by using ABAQUS software. The important factor that affects the wellhead stability is the decomposition range of hydrates. Based on this, the orthogonal experimental design method was utilized to analyze the influence laws of some factors on wellhead stability, including the thickness of hydrate formation, initial hydrate saturation, overburden depth of hydrate sediment, and mudline temperature. The results revealed that the decomposition of hydrate weakens the mechanical properties of the hydrate formation, thus leading to the compression of the hydrate formation, further causing the wellhead subsidence. When the duration of drilling operations was 24 h and no decomposition of natural gas hydrate occurs, the wellhead subsidence is recorded at 0.053 m, this value increases with an increase in drilling fluid temperature. The factors were listed in descending order as following, according to their significance of influences on wellhead stability: the thickness of hydrate formation, initial hydrate saturation, overburden depth of hydrate sediment, and mudline temperature. Among the above factors, statistical significance of the mudline temperature was less than 15% confidence level, suggesting that the effect of mudline temperature on wellhead stability is negligible. These findings not only confirm the influence of hydrate decomposition on wellhead stability, but also suggest important implications for the drilling of hydrate-bearing formation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Gas Hydrate Production Technology and Rock Mechanics in Petroleum Engineering (Volume II))

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Review

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15 pages, 2459 KiB

Open AccessReview

Review of Research Progress on Acoustic Test Equipment for Hydrate-Bearing Sediments

by Shihui Sun, Xiaohan Zhang and Yunjian Zhou

Processes 2024, 12(11), 2337; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12112337 - 24 Oct 2024

Viewed by 359

Abstract

When acoustic waves propagate through hydrate samples, they carry extensive information related to their physical and mechanical properties. These details are comprehensively reflected in acoustic parameters such as velocity, attenuation coefficient, waveform, frequency, spectrum, and amplitude variations. Based on these parameters, it is possible to invert the physical and mechanical indicators and microstructural characteristics of hydrate samples, thereby addressing a series of issues in hydrate development engineering. This study first provides an overview of the current applications and prospects of acoustic testing in hydrate development. Subsequently, it systematically elaborates on the progress in research on acoustic testing systems for hydrate samples, including the principles of acoustic testing, ship-borne hydrate core acoustic detection systems, laboratory hydrate sample acoustic testing systems, and resonance column experimental systems. Based on this foundation, this study further discusses the development trends and challenges of acoustic testing equipment for hydrate-bearing sediments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Gas Hydrate Production Technology and Rock Mechanics in Petroleum Engineering (Volume II))

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