The Source - Winter 2008 - (Page 19)

in low concentrations in impermeable sediments or as isolated veins that cannot be commercially developed. The gas hydrate reservoirs with commercial potential are those in porous, permeable sandstones, and while these are only a small fraction of the hydrate deposits, they have resource potential in the thousands of TCFs (figure 2, see page 20). In April, the U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) released the results of its assessment of gas hydrate potential in the Gulf of Mexico. The MMS estimated a total gas hydrate volume of between and many other government agencies. The program receives strong guidance and involvement from industry and universities. Despite relatively meager government funding, the program has advanced to the point where hydrate reservoirs in Alaska have been drilled and preparations are being made for full-scale production testing. Efforts in the Gulf of Mexico are also advancing, with plans for drilling at three sites scheduled for early 2009. BP manages the Alaska project, while Chevron manages the project in the Gulf. hydrate did not occur in producible sandstone reservoirs. Future drilling programs in both nations are being designed to test viable reservoirs. The South Korean program successfully drilled hydrate-bearing sands in 2007, and the Korean intent is to conduct additional drilling and production testing, with a goal of commercial production by 2015. The industry perspective For natural gas to be produced from hydrate, the hydrate must be “dissociated”—returned to its 11,112 and 34,423 TCF, with 6,717 TCF in sandstone reservoirs. Assessments of the hydrate resource potential for the Atlantic and Pacific margins are on-going and the resource potential of those locations may be far larger. The oil fields of the North Slope of Alaska underlie hydratebearing sands that have an estimated 44 to 100 TCF in place. Larger hydrate accumulations are certain to occur elsewhere on the North Slope. Current gas hydrate eﬀorts The United States and several other nations are actively engaged in efforts to demonstrate the commercial viability of gas hydrate resources. The U.S. gas hydrate program is administered through the Department of Energy (DOE), with active and successful participation from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Mineral Management Service, Naval Research Lab, Among the other gas hydrate programs, those of Japan, Canada, India, China, and South Korea are the most advanced, with extensive drilling efforts conducted during the past several years. All of these programs have benefited from collaboration with the United States, particularly with experts from the USGS. The Japanese program has plans for a production test by 2011, with commercial production possible by 2016. A joint Canadian-Japanese program has conducted several field operations in the Canadian Arctic, culminating in a production test in early 2008. While this test was brief by industry standards, it verified that hydrate reservoirs are capable of sustained gas production. The drilling programs conducted by India in 2006 and by China in 2007 recovered hydrate samples but were less successful from an industry perspective since the component water and gas—either by depressurization or heating. Depressurization is the simplest approach and requires little new technology beyond the drilling and completion of a gas well. Depressurization is accomplished most easily by removing some of the water that shares the pore space of the reservoir with the gas hydrate. Computer modeling has shown that depressurization will yield flow rates of more than 18 MMCF per day from some hydrate-bearing reservoirs, although in many cases a substantial amount of water also is produced. Some reservoirs may produce water for several years before there is significant gas production. The delay in gas production, along with water disposal costs, has a negative impact development economics; however the produced water tends to be fresh and may be an asset in some locations. THE SOURCE | WINTER 2008 , VOL. 1, ISSUE 2 19 

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Source - Winter 2008

The Source - Winter 2008 Contents First Person The Bridge to Renewable Energy Future Natural Gas: The Comfortable, Responsible Energy Solution Gas Hydrates: Poised for the Next Phase The Role of Natural Gas in a Carbon-Constrained World Natural Gas Prepays Taking the Leap to Natural Gas Vehicles The Pipeline Legislative Outlook Advertiser's Index Advertiser.com At Last

The Source - Winter 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.