Oceanic Gas Hydrate

Research and Activities Review

Presented
By

Dr. Mary C. Boatman

Gas Hydrates:
 What are they?
 Why are they important?
 What matters to MMS?
 Short term
 Long term
Gas Hydrate: Ice-like structure that traps gases
Methane, Carbon Dioxide, Ethane,
Butane, Propane, Hydrogen Sulfide

Source: U.S. Geological Survey

 Hydrate Structures

Type I Type II Type H

Concentrates gas with a ratio of ~ 1:160

One cubic foot of gas hydrate contains

160 cubic feet of gas at standard
temperature and pressure

Sources: U.S. Geological Survey and Texas A&M University

Hydrate Formation Requires Five Ingredients:

 Water

 Gas - CH4, CO2, C2H6, H2S, etc.

 Pressure

 Temperature

 Nucleation Site
Why the interest in Gas Hydrates?

 Safety:
Hydrates plug flowlines
Hydrates can be geohazards

 Resource:
Methane Hydrates are a source of natural gas

 Environmental:
Sensitive Communities use hydrates as food
Methane Hydrates can contribute to global warming
 Safety
 Hydrates can form in flowlines and on equipment

 Hydrates occur naturally in the sediment

Potential Impact of Natural Gas Hydrates
in the Seafloor Sediments On Deepwater
Production Facilities

Hydrates Form On
Exterior of Subsea
Equipment

Heat From Buried Hydrates Dissociation

Pipelines Cause Affects Foundation of
Hydrate Dissociation Surface Facilities?

Heat From Production

Wells Causes Hydrate
Dissociation

99-00075
 Gulf
of
Mexico
Seafloor gas hydrates exist near upward
migration paths
Resource
USGS Estimates of the United States In-Place
Gas Resources Within Gas Hydrates
 Methods of Extraction


Heat
 Inject CO2 to Displace
Methane
 Depressurization

 Direct Removal

 Inject Inhibitors
 Environmental
Chemosynthetic Communities:

 Sensitive Biological Communities

 Associated with Methane Hydrates

 Found in Deepwater throughout Gulf of Mexico

Global Warming
 Environmental
Chemosynthetic Communities:

 Sensitive Biological Communities

 Associated with Methane Hydrates

 Found in Deepwater throughout Gulf of Mexico

Global Warming
 S. 330 and H.R. 1753
Methane Hydrate Research and Development Act of 1999

To promote the research, identification, assessment,

exploration, and development of methane hydrate
resources, and for other purposes.

Funding: $42.5 million over 5 years

Lead Agency: Department of Energy

Consultation: Department of the Interior

Department of Defense
International Interest in Methane Hydrate Recovery

 Russia: Messoyakha gas field - 1970

 India: $56 million program

 Japan: $50 million program

 Canada: MacKenzie Delta Permafrost with Japan

United Kingdom, Brazil, and Norway

 Hydrate Research at other Agencies:

Department of Energy: Methane Hydrates as a Resource

United States Geological Survey:

Gas Hydrates as a Geohazard
Methane Hydrates as a Resource

Naval Research Laboratory: Acoustic Properties of Sediments

National Science Foundation: Basic Research into Hydrate Properties

MMS Involvement in Hydrate Research

Technology Assessment & Research Program

Chemosynthetic
Communities
Center for Marine Resources and Environmental
Technology (CMRET)

Resource Evaluation - mapping of surface anomalies

Participation on Committees and in Consortiums

3-D Seismic view of Gulf of Mexico Sea Floor
3-D Seismic Surface Anomaly Map of Cooper Field
Close-up view of Surface Anomaly with Hydrate
Vertical view of one of the seismic lines
What’s important to MMS?
 Short Term:

Safety: Technology and Geohazards

Environmental: Protecting Sensitive Biological Communities

 Long Term:

Methane Hydrate Extraction

New Technology
Identification and Valuation of Resource
Environmental Impacts