OTC 13034

Gas Hydrate in Seafloor Sediments: Impact on Future Resources and Drilling Safety
William P. Dillon, U.S. Geological Survey and Michael D. Max, Marine Desalination Systems

Copyright 2001, Offshore Technology Conference

in the water1. These conditions can be found in the deep sea,
This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2001 Offshore Technology Conference held in commonly at water depths greater than about 500 m or
Houston, Texas, 30 April–3 May 2001.
somewhat shallower depths (about 300 m) in the Arctic’s
This paper was selected for presentation by the OTC Program Committee following review of colder water. Like ice, crystalline methane hydrate is less
information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper, as
presented, have not been reviewed by the Offshore Technology Conference and are subject to dense than water, so if hydrate forms in the water it floats
correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any
position of the Offshore Technology Conference or its officers. Electronic reproduction, upward and breaks down (dissociates) at lower pressures and
distribution, or storage of any part of this paper for commercial purposes without the written
consent of the Offshore Technology Conference is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print
warmer temperatures. However, if the gas hydrate forms
is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The within sediments, it is bound in place. Gas hydrate can exist
abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper was
presented. in a zone (the gas hydrate stability zone — GHSZ), that
extends from the seafloor down to a depth where the
temperature has risen sufficiently to make hydrate unstable
Abstract
(even though the pressure increase that comes with greater
Gas hydrate concentrates methane and sometimes other gases
depth will increase gas hydrate stability). The base of the
in its crystal lattice and this gas can be released intentionally
GHSZ ranges from just below the seafloor to several hundred
creating a resource or escape accidentally forming a hazard.
to a thousand meters below it at greater water depths (higher
The densest accumulations of gas hydrate tend to occur at sites
pressures).
where the base of the gas hydrate stability zone (commonly
Gas hydrate in ocean sediments is mostly (99%) formed
the upper several hundred m of the sedimentary section) is
of biogenic methane, but significant amounts of thermogenic
configured to trap gas, often as a broad arch. The gas may rise
gas hydrates that include higher carbon-number hydrocarbons
from below or form by bacterial activity at shallow depth, but
exist in active petroleum areas (e.g. Gulf of Mexico, Caspian
gas commonly is concentrated near the base of the gas hydrate
Sea). These locations, which frequently have active drilling
stability zone by recycling. This gas accumulates in
and existing gas-handling infrastructure, must be considered
presumably leaky traps, then enriches the hydrate above as it
important for issues of drilling safety and possibly gas
migrates upward by diffusion, fluid movement through
resources. On the other hand, because by far most gas hydrate
sedimentary pores, or flow along fracture channelways.
in the world is biogenic (biogenic gas is even very significant
Analysis of seismic reflection profiles is beginning to identify
in the Gulf of Mexico), the analysis of biogenic methane
such concentrations and the circumstances that create them.
hydrate accumulatons is probably more important for both
The first attempt to explore for gas hydrate off Japan by the
resource and drilling safety considerations.
Japanese National Oil Corporation produced quite favorable
Methane hydrate occurs predominantly around the edges
results, showing high gas hydrate contents in permeable
of the continents. Biogenic methane accumulates in
sediments. Gas hydrate dissociation can be a safety concern in
continental margin sediments for two reasons: 1. the margins
drilling and production. The volume of water and gas released
of the oceans are where the flux of organic carbon to the
in dissociation is often greater than the volume of the hydrate,
seafloor is greatest because oceanic biological productivity is
so overpressures can be created. Furthermore, the gas hydrate
highest there, and 2. the continental margins are where
can provide shallow seals, so the possibility of high-pressure
sedimentation rates are highest. Rapid sediment accumulation
flows or generation of slides is apparent.
serves to cover and seal organic material before it oxidizes,
allowing microorganisms in the sediments to use it as food,
Introduction
forming the methane that becomes incorporated into gas
The gas-bearing, ice-like form of water known as gas hydrate
hydrate. The tendency for gas hydrate to accumulate at
or gas clathrate occurs in abundance in marine sediments and
continental margins means that much of it falls within the
stores immense amounts of methane, with major implications
Exclusive Economic Zones of coastal nations, many of whom
for future energy resources and seafloor stability. Gas hydrate
are not presently energy producers, thus possibly changing the
forms wherever appropriate physical conditions exist —
future global energy distribution and its economics.
moderately low temperature and moderately high pressure —
and the materials are present — water and gas near saturation
2 DILLON AND MAX
Much of our knowledge of gas hydrate in marine
sediments has come from the study of seismic reflection
profiles. The base of the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ) in
sediments is marked by a reflection in seismic profiles created
by the presence of free gas trapped beneath the gas hydrate-
bearing sediments. This reflection tends to parallel the
seafloor because it is controlled by isotherms that parallel the
seafloor, so it has become known as the bottom simulating
reflection (BSR). Another possibly significant seismic
characteristic of gas hydrate is called "blanking", the reduction
of the amplitudes (weakening) of seismic reflections from
strata in zones of high gas-hydrate content. Blanking has been
associated with gas hydrate accumulations in nature, but the
reality of blanking has been questioned because an undisputed
physical model for it has not yet been identified. In this paper
we will use seismic profiles and other recent research
information to speculate about processes that seem to to affect
gas hydrate as a resource in marine sediments.
Gas Hydrate as a Resource
Worldwide, the mass of methane in hydrate is commonly
stated to amount to twice as much (on a carbon basis) as all
the fossil fuels on Earth2, or a volume of 21x1015 cubic
meters3. From a resource perspective, this is an interesting,
but in a sense useless number, because it is nearly certain that
much of the natural methane hydrate is dispersed in the
sediments, as is much of the oil, coal, and conventional gas.
As with all natural resources, including petroleum, we will
extract methane from gas hydrate at naturally formed sites of
concentrations, so the issues of how and where gas hydrate is
concentrated are of primary significance.
Thermogenic Gas Hydrate Concentration. Thermogenic
gas hydrate generally is concentrated at vents where fluids,
including gas, are migrating directly to the seafloor from
greater depths. The fluids that pass through faults cause the
warming of nearby sediments, maintaining the temperature
above the gas hydrate stability range (at ambient pressure),
and forming a gas hydrate-free channelway through the GHSZ
for gas to move to the ocean. Much of the associated
thermogenic gas hydrate forms on the seafloor or in the water
column, and so tends to be lost quickly, as the concentration of
gas in the surrounding medium is too low for long-term
stability. Concentrations of thermogenic gas hydrate may be
found in the shallow sediments, but considering the likelihood
of gas escape from the hydrate and the small proportion of
thermogenic gas hydrate in the world, we will concentrate on
biogenic methane hydrate in this paper.
Biogenic Gas Hydrate Concentration.
Source and Concentration of Biogenic Gas. The great
preponderance of biogenic methane in gas hydrate probably is
generated at fairly shallow subbottom depths by bacteria
dispersed in the sediment. Methanogenic bacteria require
anoxic conditions, thus they exist in sediments only below
levels where sulfate reduction takes place. The level of most
active methanogenesis may be just meters or tens of meters
OTC 13034
below the seafloor. In contrast to the shallow depth of
methane generation, seismic results and drill hole data show
that gas hydrate concentration generally increases downward
through the GHSZ to its greatest concentration near the base
of the zone, several hundred meters below the seafloor. We
also observe that the normal situation is to have gas trapped
beneath the base of the GHSZ. Low velocities caused by the
trapped gas are the source of the velocity contrast that creates
the BSR, as noted above. Evidence for the trapping of gas
beneath the gas hydrate zone, in addition to the widespread
presence of the BSR, includes directly measured low
velocities and the logging and direct sampling of gas in drill
holes. Formation of gas hydrate requires the presence of gas
near saturation in the pore water, so the presence of gas
bubbles (supersaturation) is favorable for gas hydrate
development.
The presence of gas trapped at the base of the GHSZ
requires a means of supplying gas to that level in the
sediments. Furthermore the high concentrations of gas
hydrate just above the base of the GHSZ suggests that the gas
trapped beneath is acting as a source to this adjacent region
and that there are mechanisms that serve to transfer gas from
the sub-GHSZ reservoir upward into the gas hydrate zone to
form hydrate there.
Normal geological processes, both at passive and active
continental margins can account for supply of gas to cause
saturation of pore water beneath the base of the GHSZ.
Passive continental margin settings often have ongoing
sediment deposition. As the sea floor builds up, the
geothermal gradient tends to remain constant, so the
isothermal surfaces must rise with the accreting sea floor. A
sediment grain or bit of gas hydrate in the shallow sediments
effectively sees the gas hydrate stability zone migrate upward
past it as the sea floor builds up. Eventually that bit of gas
hydrate ends up sufficiently far below the sea floor that it is
just beneath the base of the GHSZ and thus outside the range
of gas hydrate stability. Then the gas hydrate dissociates and
releases its methane, which tends to accumulate at the base of
the gas hydrate stability zone, ultimately to work its way up
into the GHSZ, where it forms more gas hydrate.
At tectonically active continental margins, plates are
commonly being thrust together; normally the oceanic crust is
being shoved beneath the continental margin. New thrust
slices of sediment and basement are continually wedged
beneath the margin, causing uplift of the previously-arrived
sediments. Therefore the gas hydrate-bearing older sediments
are being raised into shallower water, reducing pressure on the
gas hydrate. This results in dissociation of the gas hydrate at
the base of the GHSZ where it is at its stability limit. Thus at
both passive and active continental margins, the most common
geological processes result in breakdown of gas hydrate at the
base of the GHSZ and release of gas bubbles just below the
gas hydrate zone. Sedimentation at passive margins increases
temperature as time goes on and thrust faulting at active
margins reduces pressure on the gas hydrate.
Methane recycling by dissociation of hydrate at the base
of the GHSZ, and subsequent reintroduction of the gas upward
OTC 13034 GAS HYDRATE IN SEAFLOOR SEDIMENTS: IMPACT ON FUTURE RESOURCES AND DRILLING SAFETY
into the gas hydrate zone to reform hydrate is probably the
main cause of the concentration of gas hydrate at the base of
the GHSZ. However, another possible mechanism proposed
to provide free gas to the region directly below the GHSZ is
related to the change in solubility of methane with depth4.
Methane has a solubility minimum at a depth just below the
base of the gas hydrate zone, so migration of the zone during
sedimentation or upward flow of interstitial fluids carrying gas
will tend to release gas bubbles at the depth of this solubility
minimum and provide the saturation concentration of gas
needed to form hydrate.
Recent Research on Deep-Source Biogenic Gas. Most
of the easily digested organic matter in sediments is converted
by methanogens at shallow depths, leaving only refractory
material, which initially suggests that most methane is
generated at fairly shallow subbottom depths. However,
recent studies have shown that bacteria are present and active
to subbottom depths of more than 800 m5 and that the source
of food is the breakdown of refractory material in the “oil
window”, about 100-150°C6. Thus bacterial studies suggest
that the source of gas supply to the base of the GHSZ may not
be only from the zone itself, dependent on methanogenesis
near the seafloor. In support of this concept, recently-reported
field studies from the Lima Basin off Peru strongly support the
concept that deeply-sourced biogenic methane is being
supplied to the base of the GHSZ and forming gas hydrate7,8.
Migration of Gas into the Gas Hydrate Zone. Gas
trapped beneath the base of the GHSZ tends to migrate
upward by diffusion or with fluid flow, commonly through
small faults. Faults appear to be common in many areas of
extensive gas hydrate formation, even on passive continental
margins that are not tectonically active. The porosity of
sediments in some areas of gas hydrate formation seems high
(in the Blake Ridge, porosity remains generally at 50% or
higher to the base of the GHSZ). Speculatively, the presence
of gas hydrate may hinder the movement of grains needed to
allow compaction, and thus might partially deter compaction
until a site in the sediments is buried deep enough to go below
the base of the GHSZ. At that point dissociation would take
place and compaction would occur, perhaps abruptly. The
common small faults (Figure 1) may be related to such
effects9. In many actively subducting plate margins, like the
Lesser Antilles, gas is carried by a great deal of fluid flow
through faults, but this is not universal. Although recent work
in the Nankai Trough wedge shows that much gas is carried
through faults, and as a result, the BSR is poorly developed
near seafloor seeps10,11, in other areas of the same sandy,
clastic-dominated wedge, the BSR is not affected by faults and
gas flow is inferred to be through matrix permeability12,13.
Local Concentrations of Gas Hydrate from Gas Trapped
at the Base of the GHSZ. In addition to the general increase
in concentration of gas hydrate downward in the GHSZ,
seismic profile analysis suggests that significant lateral
variations in gas hydrate concentration exist and that the
highest concentrations are to be found above sites where the
maximum amounts of free gas are trapped beneath the GHSZ.
3
We hypothesize that concentration of hydrate results from
upward gas transfer from these traps.
Gas traps that use the base of the GHSZ as a seal can take
many forms. As the base of the GHSZ typically follows the
seafloor, any seafloor hill can form a trap (Figure 2a). Such a
hill can result from a focusing of sediment accumulation, as at
the Blake Ridge off South Carolina (Figure 3), where the
strong BSR at the crest indicates significant gas. Reflections
are weakened (blanked) at the crest also, probably signifying
greater gas hydrate in the sediment. This situation contrasts
with the southwest flank of the ridge, where the BSR is weak
(little gas trapped) and the reflections in the GHSZ are
stronger (lesser concentrations of gas hydrate). A doming of
the seafloor caused by a tectonic fold can result in a trap at the
GHSZ seal, just as at a sedimentary hill. Such folding
commonly occurs at continental margins where subduction is
occurring so that sediments are faulted and folded into a series
of thrust slices in a tectonic accretionary wedge (Figures 2b,
4).
The Blake Ridge profile displays another typical gas trap
in which strata dip relative to the seafloor and are intersected
by the base of the GHSZ. Thus permeable beds are sealed top
and bottom by impermeable beds and at their updip ends by
gas hydrate (Figure 2c). This situation appears on the
northeast flank of the Blake Ridge (Figure 3) because the
ridge is a migrating sediment drift, eroding on its northeast
flank and accreting on its southwest flank, resulting in strata
that dip relative to the seafloor.
The traps discussed above are all formed where the base
of the GHSZ parallels the seafloor, but the base of the GHSZ
can depart from paralleling the seafloor because of distortion
of the temperature and/or chemical field, and this also can
create a trap. Examples occur above salt diapirs, where the
higher thermal conductivity of salt (compared to sediment)
creates a warm spot. Ions dissolved from the salt also act as
inhibitors, lowering the temperature at which gas hydrate is
stable. Both effects cause a shallowing of the depth of the
base of the GHSZ, creating a dome-like gas trap at the base of
the GHSZ above the salt diapir (Figure 2d)14. A profile across
a salt diapir, showing its effect on the BSR and the trapping of
gas is shown in Figure 5. Very strong reflections appearing to
the southeast of the diapir below the BSR probably represent
gas-charged layers, and weakened reflections (blanking) above
them probably signify gas hydrate development. In contrast,
to the northwest, weaker reflections beneath the BSR signify
less gas accumulation whereas stronger reflections above the
BSR suggest lower gas hydrate concentrations in the GHSZ.
Unlike the case of the simple salt diapir (Figure 5), at places
where sediments are excessively disturbed and faulted by salt
movement, a great deal of gas can be lost up fault
channelways, as in the Gulf of Mexico (Figure 6). Strong
BSRs may not form due to lack of gas and the dearth of gas in
sub-GHSZ traps may result in less concentrated gas hydrate
development than in less disturbed systems.
Drilling Tests. The Japanese National Oil Corporation
(JNOC) has begun to test the commercial potential of gas
hydrate by drilling at a continental shelf site adjacent to the
4 DILLON AND MAX
Nankai Trough, which marks a major plate boundary that here
is a subduction zone dipping west beneath Japan. The drillsite
is located about 50 km offshore from southeastern Japan in
945 m of water, in a tectonic accretionary wedge situation as
diagramed in Figure 2b. A BSR was observed at 295 m
subbottom and core temperatures, chlorinity anomalies and
LWD resistivity anomalies between 190-265m below seafloor
all indicate the presence of gas hydrate. Pore saturation of gas
hydrate in sandstone was reported as much as 80-100% with
more than 60% hydrate saturation in three horizons having a
total thickness of about 30 m15. The Nankai Trough
experience seems to be encouraging for potential exploitation.
It emphasizes the need for good permeability to allow gas
hydrate development and gas extraction. The high gas hydrate
contents associated with high permeability are also apparent in
results from the joint drilling studies by JNOC and Geological
Survey of Canada in the Mackenzie delta of Canada16.
Drilling Safety
Drilling has been carried out in gas hydrate-bearing
sediments for the last 30 years, during which time most
experience has come from the Arctic. Relatively few
accidents have occurred17, but some problems have been cited
in the Arctic18, including: uncontrolled gas releases during
drilling (gas kicks); stuck drill pipe; blowouts; fires;
catastrophic well-site subsidence; disruption of casing-
cementing operations by gas flow; gas leakage to the surface
outside of the casing; and casing failures. These are generally
caused by unintended dissociation of gas hydrate due to use of
warm drilling fluid or flow of warm fluids from depth during
production. Most of the issues in the Arctic relate to
maintaining integrity of the drillhole wall. A further problem
in the deep sea is the installation of subsea structures on
hydrate-bearing sediments. This is particularly significant if
hydrate has formed directly on the seabed,making installation
of seabed structures and even emplacement of anchors
problematic. However, gas hydrate on the seafloor is easily
identified by direct observation, or acoustic signature (recent
work by Minerals Management Service, Jesse Hunt personal
communication, 2000), and so can be avoided.
Of more concern are gas hydrates dispersed in sediments,
and as noted above, that commonly increase in concentration
downwards toward the base of the GHSZ; these can be
difficult to identify. If warmed, dispersed gas hydrate may
dissociate and release gas that can generate overpressures,
especiallyfrom sediment in the shallower part of the range of
gas hydrate stability19. In addition to generating
overpressures, we know that gas hydrate can form shallow
seals — that is the cause of BSRs. The combination of
overpressured gas and shallow seals is a recipe for generating
shallow, high-pressure flows. Certainly not all such flows are
caused by this mechanism, but it seems likely that some are.
Natural overpressures also have been related to gas-hydrate
seals; these can cause large areas to be mobilized20,21.
Although such major collapses would not be caused by
drilling, the possibility of large-scale mass movement or
sediment flow exists.
OTC 13034
Summary and Conclusions
Gas hydrate exists in very large quantities in marine
sediments, most commonly in continental margins. Gas
hydrate forms from both thermogenic and biogenic
hydrocarbon gases, but is volumetrically dominated by
biogenic methane hydrate. Thermogenic gas hydrates form
from a variety of gases that rise along faults from deep
reservoirs and form very near the seafloor. Biogenic gas
hydrates tend to be concentrated toward the bottom of the gas
hydrate stability zone (GHSZ), although most of the methane
is probably formed by methanogenic bacteria shallow in the
sedimentary section. Gas is supplied to the base of the GHSZ,
causing the concentration there, by several processes, which
may include: dissociation of previously-formed gas hydrate
due to sedimentation, which causes migration of the thermal
field; dissociation due to tectonic wedging at active plate
margins, which uplifts and reduces pressure on the hydrate;
dissociation due to salt diapirism, which focuses heat and
releases salt ions that act as inhibitors at the base of the
GHSZ; exsolution of methane from interstitial fluid due to a
solubility minimum beneath the GHSZ; possibly the
generation of new biogenic methane at great depth by deep
bacterial activity.
Although much biogenic methane is dispersed and thus
probably not available for future exploitation, a great deal
appears to exist in significant concentrations. Local
concentrations of biogenic methane hydrate seem to form
where gas is trapped at the base of the GHSZ, which acts as a
seal. Traps can form in many ways. A few examples include
cases where the base of the GHSZ parallels the sea floor and is
configured into a dome-like structure because of the shape of
the seafloor at sedimentary or tectonic rises, or where the base
of gas hydrate intersects and seals dipping permeable strata.
Alternatively, the dome shape at the base of the GHSZ that is
needed to create a trap may result from thermal/chemical
effects that occur, for example, over salt diapirs.
Safety issues constitute problems caused by gas hydrate
dissociation and generation of overpressures as a result of
natural processes or petroleum exploration and production,
resulting in gas release and sediment mobilization. Mass
movements and sediment flows can result. These constitute
hazards during both drilling and production.
The future of gas hydrate as an energy resource is
presently unclear. However, the presence of gas hydrate in
territories of coastal states that are not now energy producers
indicates the possibility that gas hydrate may have the
potential to significantly change the world energy picture.
Acknowledgements
We wish to acknowledge the major contribution of Jeffrey
Nealon, USGS, to this paper. Discussions within the USGS
gas hydrate research group and with our colleagues of the
Naval Research Laboratory also have been invaluable.
OTC 13034 GAS HYDRATE IN SEAFLOOR SEDIMENTS: IMPACT ON FUTURE RESOURCES AND DRILLING SAFETY
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northern Caribbean plate boundary”, Marine and Petroleum
Geology, v. 9, p. 70-88.
6 DILLON AND MAX OTC 13034

Figure 1. Seismic reflection profile off the southeastern

United States with dashed interpretation of the pervasive
minor faulting that may be related to gas hydrate processes.
The base of the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ) is marked
by the bottom simulating reflection (BSR). The BSR
represents the top of free gas trapped beneath gas hydrate-
bearing sediments and in this case it is irregular and
discontinuous because of the disruption of gas-bearing strata.
Because the base of the GHSZ is a physico-chemical boundary
that is controlled by temperature and pressure it actually is not
faulted, and the fault offsets are actually larger than the
irregularities in the BSR.
OTC 13034 GAS HYDRATE IN SEAFLOOR SEDIMENTS: IMPACT ON FUTURE RESOURCES AND DRILLING SAFETY 7

Figure 2. Some diagramed examples of types of gas traps beneath the gas hydrate-bearing sediments of the GHSZ. The traps
concentrate gas and thus serve to concentrate the formation of gas hydrate in regions above them.
a. A simple hill on the seafloor. As the base of the GHSZ, marked by the BSR, tends to follow an isotherm and the thermal gradients
generally remain fairly constant, the base of the GHSZ will tend to parallel the seafloor. Thus a hill will cause a culmination at the
base of the GHSZ and create a gas trap.
b. A seafloor hill that traps gas as at Figure 2a, but caused by tectonic folding. Plate motion at collision zones will continuously
wedge newly arriving material under earlier-arrived, resulting in uplift as well as folding of earlier sediments. The uplift results in
reduction of pressure, which causes dissociation of gas hydrate.
c. A simple trap in which strata dipping into the seafloor are sealed at their updip ends by gas hydrate.
d. A gas trap formed by doming of the base of the GHSZ above a salt diapir. The greater thermal conductivity of salt compared to
sediment , which creates a warm spot, and the inhibitor (antifreeze) effect of the ions dissolved from the salt both serve to raise the
base of the GHSZ over the diapir to form the gas trap.
8 DILLON AND MAX OTC 13034

Figure 3. Seismic reflection profile across the Blake Ridge off South Carolina. the ridge is a sedimentary accretionary hill (sediment
drift) that is migrating to the southwest. The crest of the ridge shows a trap like that diagramed in Figure 2a and the northeast flank
forms traps like that diagramed in Figure 2c.
OTC 13034 GAS HYDRATE IN SEAFLOOR SEDIMENTS: IMPACT ON FUTURE RESOURCES AND DRILLING SAFETY 9

Figure 4. Seismic reflection profile across the tectonic accretionary wedge north of Haiti22. The situation is like that diagramed in
Figure 2b.

Figure 5. Seismic reflection profile across a salt diapir off the southeastern United States. The BSR rises above the diapir for
thermal/chemical reasons and creates a gas trap at the base of the GHSZ as diagramed in Figure 2d. Main gas trapping is indicated by
the strong reflections beneath the BSR to the southeast of the diapir and greatest gas hydrate development is interpreted to exist above
that gas concentration on the basis of the weaker reflections (blanking).
10 DILLON AND MAX OTC 13034

Figure 6. Seismic reflection profile in an area of sediment disruption due to salt mobilization, Bryant Canyon area, Gulf of Mexico.
Where sediments are extensively faulted (right of ~ shotpoint 500), gas tends to escape, and less gas hydrate forms within the GHSZ
in the sediments than in areas with minimum disturbance, although extensive gas hydrate accumulation at the seafloor is possible. No
continuous BSR is present, but discrete terminations of strong reflections at the base of the GHSZ (~ shotpoints 250 - 300) probably
show the top of the region of free gas. a situation somewhat comparable to the BSR in Figure 1.