SPE 156516

Gas Hydrates: A Fuel for Future but Wrapped in Drilling Challenges

Muhammad Iqrar Qadir, Balochistan University of Information Technology
Muhammad Asrar, Weatherford Oil Tools M.E. Limited, Pakistan

Copyright 2011, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE/PAPG Annual Technical Conference held in Islamabad, Pakistan, 22–23 November 2011.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not been
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ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

Gas hydrates are clathrate non-stoichiometric
compounds, in which the gas molecules are encaged in
crystalline cells, consisting of water molecules retained by
the energy of hydrogen bonds. They are also called
clathrate hydrates or “flammable ice”.
Considering the planet as a whole, the quantity of
natural gas in sedimentary gas hydrates greatly exceeds
conventional natural gas resources. As a result, numerous
studies have been dedicated to the energy resource
potential of gas hydrates. Hydrates of hydrocarbon gases
occur naturally and attention has been drawn to develop
these naturally occurring methane-hydrate reservoirs as an
energy resource. The amount of carbon stored in these
deposits is estimated to be 2-7 times higher than the
amount present in the known fossil fuel deposits. Analysis
indicates that hydrates can occupy as much as 500 m of
sediments.
Today natural gas is an efficient fuel for
generation of energy. Gas burns cleanly and creates fewer
environmental problems relative to coal and oil. Natural
gas consumption is increasing day by day especially for
generation of electricity, in chemical and textile industries,
and as a fuel in transportation. It is expected that in the
near future, industries will demand 40 - 50 % of the total
gas production. Current research has estimated that
worldwide reserves are of the order 10,000 TCF, out of
which 6200 TCF are recoverable with current technology.
Limited oil/natural gas reserves have focused us to find
alternate sources of energy. Research has shown that coal
bed methane, coal gasification, hydrogen and gas hydrates
are possible alternate source of energy. These sources are
prospective to replace the current fossil fuels, and should
be cost effective, long lasting, and feasible to use. In this
view gas hydrates are considered as the energy resource of
future.

Gas Hydrates research in the last two decades has
taken various directions ranging from ways to understand
the safe and economical production of this enormous
resource to drilling problems and challenges. Gas
Hydrates are stable at low temperature and high pressures.
Studies are also underway for exploring the gas
hydrates in the offshore area of Pakistan; initial
exploration activities indicates very positive results for the
presence of gas hydrates in the offshore Makran region
(Western Costal Areas).
This paper does a review on occurrence of gas
hydrates. This paper discusses drilling related challenges
for exploiting of gas hydrates and proposes some
solutions. Finally, future considerations and
recommendations are presented in paper to that may help
our industry to unwrap this Fuel for Future.
Gas hydrates were first created by Sir Humphrey
Davy in 1810 in laboratory work when he cooled an
aqueous solution which was saturated by chlorine gas at
temperature below 9 degree C as a result he obtained a
crystal like solid. Further research relevant to gas hydrates
was initiated when chemists made different hydrates in
laboratory by combinations of different gases with water
in the 19th century. After that it was discovered that these
gas hydrates differ from those are commonly known as
“hydrates”. In gas hydrates water molecules do not form
covalent bonds with gas molecules. As we know water has
capability to form hydrogen bonding and water molecules
form cages that are filled with suitable size of guest
molecules. In the 1930s, it was observed that some ice
like solids (Fig # 01) were continuously formed within
natural gas pipelines in very cold regions of the world
(Russia). These hydrates cause the blockage of pipelines,
and other vital equipments which are essential parts of the
distribution system. Russian scientists were the first to
know that methane in natural gas systems could form
2 SPE 156516

hydrates if there are favorable conditions of temperature

and pressure.

These investigations were followed by the

discovery of gas hydrates, first in the permafrost regions
of Russia (Makogon et al. 1971) and Canada’s MacKenzie
Delta (Bily and Dick 1974), and subsequently in sediments
of the Caspian Sea and Black Sea (Yefremova and
Zhizhchenko 1974). Gas hydrates are naturally occurring
in which natural gas is trapped within water molecule
lattices.

The main component of natural gas is methane

(82-87%) and also some other heavier constituents
(ethane, propane, butane) plus inorganic gases (carbon
dioxide, hydrogen sulfide) which contribute in the
formation of gas hydrates. In the presence of methane,
when water approaches its freezing point, water may start
to freeze with cavities inside, so may start to form
hydrates. These lattices cannot be established until some
of the cavities are filled with gas molecules. This ice like
structure is called gas hydrate. It seems to be ice but has
different behavior at the same conditions. In most cases,
methane is the dominant gas in the solid phase of hydrates,
but carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, ethane, and heavier
H/C are also found. The whole composition range of Fig # 01-Photographs of gas hydrate samples recovered
hydrates is still unknown. during ODP Leg 164 in 1995.

Research shows that gas hydrates are normally
formed when gas is cooled to a temperature below the
hydrate formation temperature. Hydrates cannot be stable
at temperatures above 35 degree C, depending on pressure.
Gas hydrates have the unique characteristics that they
expand 150-170 times when they reach the surface
temperature and pressure. This property illustrate that one
cubic foot of gas hydrates found at subsurface may
produce 150 – 170 cubic feet of natural gas at surface
conditions.
As previously said, Gas hydrates stability is
dependent upon temperature, pressure and composition of
both liquid and gas involved. Without a doubt, all over the
world the presence of methane hydrates in marine
sediments are a major reservoir of carbon that may have
an important effect on the global environment change both
in present and past. The allocation of natural gas hydrates
with respect to depth in sediments has been determined
from different sites but the process by which distribution
of hydrates accumulation takes place in the sediments is
still not understood.

The presence of hydrates in sediments is

commonly determined by bottom simulator reflector
(BSR) and it is generally assumed that three phases are
present (gas+hydrates+water) in equilibrium. It is
commonly known that stability of hydrates is affected by
the presence of CO2 and H2S, and salt concentration in
pores as well as sediments.

Fig # 02 shows stability T & P pattern for

permafrost and tropical marine environment. The
temperature which is near 1°C in permafrost regions allow
the hydrates to exist a few hundred meters below the
earth’s surface. Gas hydrates can be stable down to 300
meters when the sea floor is at 0°C. Sea floor depth,
geothermal gradient, gas composition, ionic content of
water and geology directly influence the thickness of the
gas hydrates stability zone.
SPE 156516
Fig # 02-Phase diagram showing thermodynamic stability
range of hydrates in a pure water/methane System.
IMPORTANCE OF NATURAL GAS HYDRATES
Natural gas hydrates have an importance both from a
geological and an environmental point of view for three
reasons.
• First, they have a significant amount of methane
which is the main constituent of natural gas. They
are considered a future source of energy.
• Second, hydrates may affect the atmospheric
level of CH4 and C02 as either gas is released by
hydrates. This affect may also cause a change in
climate conditions and cause retreat of
glaciations.
• Third the subsistence and approach of natural gas
hydrates play a role in geologic processes, such
as erosion of unconsolidated submarine
sediments, angle insecurity along continental
margins, and submarine mud volcanoes.
Investigation has discovered that the amount of fuel
trapped in gas hydrates all over the world is twice that
recoverable fossil fuel today.
PAKISTAN AND NATURAL GAS HYDRATES
Pakistan is facing a severe energy crisis due to
increasing demand in electricity and fuel for
transportation. Pakistan has a major energy source in the
form of natural gas, for which demand is increasing
quickly. Recently, natural gas fulfilled 49 % of the energy
gap. According to the Oil and Gas Journal (OGJ), as of
January 1, 2009 Pakistan had 29.671 trillion cubic feet
(TCF) of proven natural gas reserves.
3
Pakistan now has to exploit all reserves which were
previously thought uneconomical, and even non-
combustible due to the presence of nitrogen, carbon
dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide.
In October 1997, as the result of studies for exploring
for gas hydrates, BSR (bottom simulating reflector)
refraction data produced a low velocity zone
(approximately 200m). The low velocity zone is strangely
thick and it is possible that it contains a large quantity of
free gas. The measurement of free gas saturation and gas
hydrates is based on seismic-reflection amplitude variation
with offset (AVO) for a bottom-simulating reflector
coupled with rock-physics modeling. This approach is
effortless and easy to execute. Further studies have
showed that a thick gas hydrates horizon between the
deformation front and 1350m water depth.
According to the NIO (National Institute of
Oceanography) report, the Pakistan coast is about 1000
Km long extending from the Indian border in the east to
the Iranian border in the west. The Exclusive Economic
Zone (EEZ) of Pakistan is about 240,000 sq. km, with
additional continental shelf area of about 50,000 sq. km.
As such, the total marine zone of Pakistan is over 30% of
its land area. This region is characterized by unique
oceanic hydrocarbon resources.
Makran offshore appears more capable of
hydrocarbon potential. Gas Hydrates are one such
resource of the future, which appear to be likely in
occurrence offshore Makran. The assessment and
exploration of this resource is vital for the economy of the
country but requires heavy investment.
GAS HYDRATES DRILLING CHALLENGES
No doubt, gas hydrates are a potential source of
energy for the future, but this potential source of energy is
still faced with drilling challenges. Gas hydrates are still
unexploited due to technical, economical and
environmental limitations. Unique characteristics of
methane hydrate make it difficult to drill, produce and
transport safely and economically. This source of fuel
cannot be drilled by conventional oil and gas technology.
For the formation of gas hydrates four vital
elements are low temperature, high pressure, presence of
H/C gas and water. Presence of gas hydrates zone during
drilling a well has serious safety implications. At the
dissociation temperature and pressure conditions for gas
hydrates, gas flows to the surface and hydrates can form in
the risers, choke manifold, and blowout preventers.
Gas hydrates need attention from engineers to see
how they can safely drill and economically produce these
reserves. Gas hydrates have a characteristic of expansion
of hundreds of times when they transfer from solid to gas
(sublimation).
4 SPE 156516
Industry has paid attention to gas hydrates due to
following reasons:
• Gas hydrates present challenges to drill.
• Considerable source of energy for future.
• Cause to change the global climate.
Many factors contribute to hydrates drilling hazards.
Most prominent are lack of awareness of gas hydrates
presence. In the absence of BSR, hydrates presence
especially in marine sediments cannot be accurately
identified even if we drill the zone. An incomplete
awareness of petro-physical properties of gas hydrates also
contributes. Gas hydrates caused many obstacles for
further progress of drilling such as kicks, blowouts,
subsidence, stuck pipe, gas leaks out side of casing, and
also cause inefficient cement job.
Some common problems/challenges which are recorded in
history relevant to the hydrates dissociation are:
• Gas flow to the surface after hydrates
dissociation.
• Gas flow through the well head ports or outside
to the surface casing.
• Failure of gas weakened zone may produce
destabilization due to gravitational loading and
seismic activity.
• Hydrates formation on surface equipments
(BOP’s, Wellhead, and Choke Manifold).
Challenges faced during drilling the Methane Hydrates
are:
• Drilling window in methane hydrates reservoirs
is not well understood. During drilling gas
hydrates it is not only pressure within the drilling
window but also managing the dissociation
(temperature and pressure) conditions of
hydrates.
• Surface hole instability (During hydrate
dissociation).
• Subsidence caused by hydrate melting and gas
production.
• Pressure fluctuations especially during
connections.
• Developing an automated control/response to
anomalies of pressure and temperature.
Fig # 04-Hydrate Drilling and Production Problems.
So the industry is faced with a challenge of how to
overcome problems faced during the gas hydrates drilling.
Sooner or later the industry will have to learn how to drill
for commercial quantities of methane hydrates in order to
meet increasing energy demands.
MITIGATING DRILLING HAZARDS FOR GAS
HYDRATES
Eliminating drilling hazards to safely drill through
sediments containing hydrates requires the following basic
information which is vital:
• Locate the hydrate zone.
• Appropriate modeling of gas hydrates response at
reservoir temperature and pressure.
• Predict hydrate concentration.
All these steps are needed to reduce drilling hazards.
This data is difficult to obtain, and requires proper usage
of equipment, technique and focus. After formation of
hydrates, estimating how they can be dissociated, by
releasing pressure, heating or using some chemical
additives. When hydrates dissociation occur gas will
liberate quickly. If the liberated gas cannot be controlled
properly this may cause the destruction of equipment.
Temperature and pressure can be predicted with
depth. As we have mentioned earlier, hydrates formation
requires four essential elements: H/C guest molecules,
water molecules for crystallization/cages, and a
combination of low temperature and high pressure.
DRILLING THROUGH HYDRATE ZONES
There are two basic types of hydrate-related drilling
problems:
• Drilling through formations already containing
natural hydrates, and
• Experiencing drilling conditions that may be
conducive to formation of hydrates
SPE 156516
Most important ways to safely drill through Gas
hydrates are:
• Reduce the temperature of the drilling mud.
• Drill at “controlled” drilling rates (not too fast -
to reduce heat generation rates).
• Increase mud weight - if possible.
• Increase mud circulation rate to ensure turbulent
flow to achieve better cooling and to remove any
gas.
• Keeping the temperature above, or the pressure
below hydrate formation conditions.
• Using chemicals to depress the hydrate formation
point, i.e., use “thermodynamic inhibitors” such
as methanol, glycols and salts (methanol is very
toxic).
• Adding chemicals that reduce the rate of
nucleation of hydrate crystals.
• Adding chemicals to reduce the rate of growth of
hydrate crystals which have nucleated.
• Adding chemicals that tend to prevent
agglomeration of crystals, so that solid plugs do
not form (kinetic inhibitors).
• Prevent hydrocarbons from entering the wellbore
(adequate mud weight, rapid shut-in).
• If hydrocarbons enter the wellbore, prevent them
from reaching the wellhead (monitoring, bull-
heading).
• If hydrocarbons reach the wellhead and BOP,
prevent formation of hydrates (high salinity mud;
glycol mud standby).
• Introduce and evaluate some new technologies to
exploit this Fuel for the Future; technologies to
consider can be:
o Managed Pressure Drilling.
o Underbalanced Drilling.
o Drilling with Casing.
TECHNOLOGIES TO BE CONISERED TO
EXPLOIT GAS HYDRATES
Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD):
The international Association of Drilling Contractors
(IADC) has a specific definition for MPD:
“Managed Pressure Drilling is an adaptive drilling
process used to precisely control the annular pressure
profile throughout the wellbore. The objectives are to
ascertain the downhole pressure environment limits and to
manage the annular hydraulic pressure profile
accordingly”.
Key Benefits of MPD for Gas Hydrates Drilling:
• MPD employs a numbers of tools that mitigate the
risks of drilling and cost related problems during
5
drilling by proper management of well bore pressure
profile.
• MPD offers appropriate control on backpressure, fluid
density, fluid rheology, annular fluid level, circulating
friction loss, hole geometry, and equivalent
circulation density etc.
• MPD allows quick corrective action on the observed
control variations through combinations of automated
choke system, backpressure pump, and dynamic
annular pressure control system.
• MPD has also been successfully applied to avoidance
of formation influx, control loss circulation. Any well
bore flow incident can be managed safely by the
appropriate process Fig # 05.
Fig # 05-Sample MPD Rig up.
Underbalanced Drilling:
Underbalanced drilling is defined by the IADC UBO
committee as:
Drilling with the hydrostatic head of the drilling fluid
intentionally designed to be lower than the pressure of the
formations being drilled. The hydrostatic head of the fluid
may naturally be less than the formation pressure or it can
be induced. The induced state may be created by adding
natural gas, nitrogen or air to the liquid phase of the
drilling fluid. Whether the underbalanced status is induced
or natural, the result may be an influx of formation fluids
which must be circulated from the well and controlled at
surface. This in fact means that in underbalanced reservoir
drilling, the effective downhole pressure within the
wellbore is always maintained to be lower than the
reservoir pressure and it is intended to have reservoir
inflow into the wellbore.
Underbalanced Drilling:
Preservoir > Pbottomhole = Phydrostatic + Pfriction + Pchoke
Underbalanced drilling techniques can be a
successful tool for drilling methane hydrates especially for
an adaptive technique Manage Pressure Drilling.
6 SPE 156516
Some other tools are also developed for UBD and MPD
that can help drill methane hydrates.
• Downhole Deployment Valve
• Wireline retrievable drill string check valve
• Continuous circulation system
• Nitrogen Production Unit
Drilling With Casing (DWC):
It is a one-trip casing drilling technology that tries to avoid
pressure-pulsating the fragile and frozen near-wellbore
strata unnecessarily. A robust casing could be one-trip set
and cemented to a sufficiently deep depth to minimize the
risk of seafloor collapse from the temperature, pressure
and chemical quasi-mining process of producing the
methane hydrates over time. The circulation of cold
drilling mud could assist in absorbing the heat released by
the setting of the cement.
DWC enables drilling technology with a less expensive
floating rig because the casing weight is reduced.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMENDATIONS
Gas hydrates are crystalline or ice-like structures made up
of water lattice and guest gases. These crystalline
structures are part of a group called clathrates. The
formation and stability of gas hydrates is favored at high
pressure and low temperature.
Gas hydrates can be a fuel for future, but it requires new
research, methods and technologies to exploit it safely and
in a commercially viable manner. Good background data
for Gas hydrates in combination with innovative
technologies like Managed Pressure Drilling,
Underbalanced Drilling and Drilling with Casing can be
helpful, but still it needs detailed analysis and evaluation.
Finally, more work is required in understanding the effect
of dissociation of the gas hydrate in the drilled wellbore as
this is a major factor causing drilling limitations. It is very
likely that the continuous understanding of gas hydrate
from a drilling perspective could improve the success in
producing this enormous resource trapped due to drilling
challenges.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Special acknowledgment is directed to Dr. Yaqoob
Soomro (Chairman of Petroleum & Gas department in
Balochistan University of Information Technology
Engineering and Management Sciences, Quetta) for his
guidance and support during this study and paper work;
also sincere thanks for kind support, guidance and
supervision from Weatherford Oil Tools M.E. Limited
Pakistan towards academia in above mentioned university.
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SPE 156516 7

September 1998; revised 7 February 1999; accepted 8

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