| Summary: | Two models have been developed to bracket the expected gas production from a methane hydrate reservoir. The frontal-sweep model represents the upper bound on the gas production, and the fracture-flow model represents the lower bound. Parametric studies were made to determine the importance of a number of variables, including porosity, bed thickness, injection temperature, and fracture length. These studies indicate that the hydrate-filled porosity should be at least 15%, reservoir thickness should be about 25 ft or more, and well spacing should be fairly large (maybe 40 acres/well), if possible. Injection temperatures should probably be between 150 and 250/sup 0/F to achieve an acceptable balance between high heat losses and unrealistically high injection rates. Numerous important questions about hydrate gas production remain unanswered.
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