METHANE HYDRATE PRODUCTION FROM ALASKAN PERMAFROST

• Main Authors: Thomas E. Williams, Keith Millheim, Buddy King
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: 02 PETROLEUM; 03 NATURAL GAS; ARCTIC REGIONS; CHEMISTRY; DEPOSITION; DRILLING; ENGINEERS; ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS; GAS HYDRATES; GEOLOGY; GEOPHYSICS; HYDRATES; LEASES; NATURAL GAS; PERMAFROST; PETROLEUM; Arctic; Canada; Ice; Methane hydrate; north slope; permafrost; Alaska
• Online Access: http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/826314; https://www.osti.gov/biblio/826314; https://doi.org/10.2172/826314

Natural-gas hydrates have been encountered beneath the permafrost and considered a nuisance by the oil and gas industry for years. Engineers working in Russia, Canada and the USA have documented numerous drilling problems, including kicks and uncontrolled gas releases, in arctic regions. Information has been generated in laboratory studies pertaining to the extent, volume, chemistry and phase behavior of gas hydrates. Scientists studying hydrate potential agree that the potential is great--on the North Slope of Alaska alone, it has been estimated at 590 TCF. However, little information has been obtained on physical samples taken from actual rock containing hydrates. This gas-hydrate project is in the final stages of a cost shared partnership between Maurer Technology, Noble Corporation, Anadarko Petroleum, and the U.S. Department of Energy's Methane Hydrate R&D program. The purpose of the project is to build on previous and ongoing R&D in the area of onshore hydrate deposition to identify, quantify and predict production potential for hydrates located on the North Slope of Alaska. The work scope drilled and cored a well The HOT ICE No.1 on Anadarko leases beginning in FY 2003 and completed in 2004. An on-site core analysis laboratory was built and utilized for determining the physical characteristics of the hydrates and surrounding rock. The well was drilled from a new Anadarko Arctic Platform that has a minimal footprint and environmental impact. The final efforts of the project are to correlate geology, geophysics, logs, and drilling and production data and provide this information to scientists developing reservoir models. No gas hydrates were encountered in this well; however, a wealth of information was generated and is contained in this report.