Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope: Overview of scientific and technical program

The Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well was drilled within the Alaska North Slope (ANS) Milne Point Unit (MPU) from February 3 to 19, 2007. The well was conducted as part of a Cooperative Research Agreement (CRA) project co-sponsored since 2001 by BP Exploration (Alaska), Inc. (BPXA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to help determine whether ANS gas hydrate can become a technically and commercially viable gas resource. Early in the effort, regional reservoir characterization and reservoir simulation modeling studies indicated that up to 0.34 trillion cubic meters (tcm; 12 trillion cubic feet, tcf) gas may be technically recoverable from 0.92 tcm (33 tcf) gas-in-place within the Eileen gas hydrate accumulation near industry infrastructure within ANS MPU, Prudhoe Bay Unit (PBU), and Kuparuk River Unit (KRU) areas. To further constrain these estimates and to enable the selection of a test site for further data acquisition, the USGS reprocessed and interpreted MPU 3D seismic data provided by BPXA to delineate 14 prospects containing significant highly-saturated gas hydrate-bearing sand reservoirs. The “Mount Elbert” site was selected to drill a stratigraphic test well to acquire a full suite of wireline log, core, and formation pressure test data. Drilling results and data interpretation confirmed pre-drill predictions and thus increased confidence in both the prospect interpretation methods and in the wider ANS gas hydrate resource estimates. The interpreted data from the Mount Elbert well provide insight into and reduce uncertainty of key gas hydrate-bearing reservoir properties, enable further refinement and validation of the numerical simulation of the production potential of both MPU and broader ANS gas hydrate resources, and help determine viability of potential field sites for future extended term production testing. Drilling and data acquisition operations demonstrated that gas hydrate scientific research programs can be safely, effectively, and efficiently conducted within ANS infrastructure. The program success resulted in a technical team recommendation to project management to drill and complete a long-term production test within the area of existing ANS infrastructure. If approved by stakeholders, this long-term test would build on prior arctic research efforts to better constrain the potential gas rates and volumes that could be produced from gas hydrate-bearing sand reservoirs.     

Permafrost-associated natural gas hydrate occurrences on the Alaska North Slope

In the 1960s Russian scientists made what was then a bold assertion that gas hydrates should occur in abundance in nature. Since this early start, the scientific foundation has been built for the realization that gas hydrates are a global phenomenon, occurring in permafrost regions of the arctic and in deep water portions of most continental margins worldwide. In 1995, the U.S. Geological Survey made the first systematic assessment of the in-place natural gas hydrate resources of the United States. That study suggested that the amount of gas in the gas hydrate accumulations of northern Alaska probably exceeds the volume of known conventional gas resources on the North Slope. Researchers have long speculated that gas hydrates could eventually become a producible energy resource, yet technical and economic hurdles have historically made gas hydrate development a distant goal. This view began to change in recent years with the realization that this unconventional resource could be developed with existing conventional oil and gas production technology. One of the most significant developments was the completion of the BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well on the Alaska North Slope, which along with the Mallik project in Canada, have for the first time allowed the rational assessment of gas hydrate production technology and concepts. Almost 40 years of gas hydrate research in northern Alaska has confirmed the occurrence of at least two large gas hydrate accumulations on the North Slope. We have also seen in Alaska the first ever assessment of how much gas could be technically recovered from gas hydrates. However, significant technical concerns need to be further resolved in order to assess the ultimate impact of gas hydrate energy resource development in northern Alaska.     

Analysis of formation pressure test results in the Mount Elbert methane hydrate reservoir through numerical simulation

Targeting the methane hydrate (MH) bearing units C and D at the Mount Elbert prospect on the Alaska North Slope, four MDT (Modular Dynamic Formation Tester) tests were conducted in February 2007. The C2 MDT test was selected for history matching simulation in the MH Simulator Code Comparison Study. Through history matching simulation, the physical and chemical properties of the unit C were adjusted, which suggested the most likely reservoir properties of this unit. Based on these properties thus tuned, the numerical models replicating “Mount Elbert C2 zone like reservoir”, “PBU L-Pad like reservoir” and “PBU L-Pad down dip like reservoir” were constructed. The long term production performances of wells in these reservoirs were then forecasted assuming the MH dissociation and production by the methods of depressurization, combination of depressurization and wellbore heating, and hot water huff and puff. The predicted cumulative gas production ranges from 2.16 × 10⁶ m³/well to 8.22 × 10⁸ m³/well depending mainly on the initial temperature of the reservoir and on the production method.This paper describes the details of modeling and history matching simulation. This paper also presents the results of the examinations on the effects of reservoir properties on MH dissociation and production performances under the application of the depressurization and thermal methods.     

Gas geochemistry of the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope: Implications for gas hydrate exploration in the Arctic

Gases were analyzed from well cuttings, core, gas hydrate, and formation tests at the BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, drilled within the Milne Point Unit, Alaska North Slope. The well penetrated a portion of the Eileen gas hydrate deposit, which overlies the more deeply buried Prudhoe Bay, Milne Point, West Sak, and Kuparuk River oil fields. Gas sources in the upper 200 m are predominantly from microbial sources (C₁ isotopic compositions ranging from −86.4 to −80.6‰). The C₁ isotopic composition becomes progressively enriched from 200 m to the top of the gas hydrate-bearing sands at 600 m. The tested gas hydrates occur in two primary intervals, units D and C, between 614.0 m and 664.7 m, containing a total of 29.3 m of gas hydrate-bearing sands. The hydrocarbon gases in cuttings and core samples from 604 to 914 m are composed of methane with very little ethane. The isotopic composition of the methane carbon ranges from −50.1 to −43.9‰ with several outliers, generally decreasing with depth. Gas samples collected by the Modular Formation Dynamics Testing (MDT) tool in the hydrate-bearing units were similarly composed mainly of methane, with up to 284 ppm ethane. The methane isotopic composition ranged from −48.2 to −48.0‰ in the C sand and from −48.4 to −46.6‰ in the D sand. Methane hydrogen isotopic composition ranged from −238 to −230‰, with slightly more depleted values in the deeper C sand. These results are consistent with the concept that the Eileen gas hydrates contain a mixture of deep-sourced, microbially biodegraded thermogenic gas, with lesser amounts of thermogenic oil-associated gas, and coal gas. Thermal gases are likely sourced from existing oil and gas accumulations that have migrated up-dip and/or up-fault and formed gas hydrate in response to climate cooling with permafrost formation.     

Pre- and post-drill comparison of the Mount Elbert gas hydrate prospect, Alaska North Slope

In 2006, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) completed a detailed analysis and interpretation of available 2-D and 3-D seismic data, along with seismic modeling and correlation with specially processed downhole well log data for identifying potential gas hydrate accumulations on the North Slope of Alaska. A methodology was developed for identifying sub-permafrost gas hydrate prospects within the gas hydrate stability zone in the Milne Point area. The study revealed a total of 14 gas hydrate prospects in this area.In order to validate the gas hydrate prospecting protocol of the USGS and to acquire critical reservoir data needed to develop a longer-term production testing program, a stratigraphic test well was drilled at the Mount Elbert prospect in the Milne Point area in early 2007. The drilling confirmed the presence of two prominent gas-hydrate-bearing units in the Mount Elbert prospect, and high quality well logs and core data were acquired. The post-drill results indicate pre-drill predictions of the reservoir thickness and the gas-hydrate saturations based on seismic and existing well data were 90% accurate for the upper unit (hydrate unit D) and 70% accurate for the lower unit (hydrate unit C), confirming the validity of the USGS approach to gas hydrate prospecting. The Mount Elbert prospect is the first gas hydrate accumulation on the North Slope of Alaska identified primarily on the basis of seismic attribute analysis and specially processed downhole log data. Post-drill well log data enabled a better constraint of the elastic model and the development of an improved approach to the gas hydrate prospecting using seismic attributes.     

Gas production from a cold, stratigraphically-bounded gas hydrate deposit at the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope: Implications of uncertainties

As part of an effort to identify suitable targets for a planned long-term field test, we investigate by means of numerical simulation the gas production potential from unit D, a stratigraphically bounded (Class 3) permafrost-associated hydrate occurrence penetrated in the BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well on North Slope, Alaska. This shallow, low-pressure deposit has high porosities (? = 0.4), high intrinsic permeabilities (k = 10⁻¹² m²) and high hydrate saturations (S_H = 0.65). It has a low temperature (T = 2.3-2.6 °C) because of its proximity to the overlying permafrost. The simulation results indicate that vertical wells operating at a constant bottomhole pressure would produce at very low rates for a very long period. Horizontal wells increase gas production by almost two orders of magnitude, but production remains low. Sensitivity analysis indicates that the initial deposit temperature is by the far the most important factor determining production performance (and the most effective criterion for target selection) because it controls the sensible heat available to fuel dissociation. Thus, a 1 °C increase in temperature is sufficient to increase the production rate by a factor of almost 8. Production also increases with a decreasing hydrate saturation (because of a larger effective permeability for a given k), and is favored (to a lesser extent) by anisotropy.     

Physical properties of sediment from the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope

This study characterizes cored and logged sedimentary strata from the February 2007 BP Exploration Alaska, Department of Energy, U.S. Geological Survey (BPXA-DOE-USGS) Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well on the Alaska North Slope (ANS). The physical-properties program analyzed core samples recovered from the well, and in conjunction with downhole geophysical logs, produced an extensive dataset including grain size, water content, porosity, grain density, bulk density, permeability, X-ray diffraction (XRD) mineralogy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and petrography.This study documents the physical property interrelationships in the well and demonstrates their correlation with the occurrence of gas hydrate. Gas hydrate (GH) occurs in three unconsolidated, coarse silt to fine sand intervals within the Paleocene and Eocene beds of the Sagavanirktok Formation: Unit D-GH (614.4 m-627.9 m); unit C-GH1 (649.8 m-660.8 m); and unit C-GH2 (663.2 m-666.3 m). These intervals are overlain by fine to coarse silt intervals with greater clay content. A deeper interval (unit B) is similar lithologically to the gas-hydrate-bearing strata; however, it is water-saturated and contains no hydrate.In this system it appears that high sediment permeability (k) is critical to the formation of concentrated hydrate deposits. Intervals D-GH and C-GH1 have average “plug” intrinsic permeability to nitrogen values of 1700 mD and 675 mD, respectively. These values are in strong contrast with those of the overlying, gas-hydrate-free sediments, which have k values of 5.7 mD and 49 mD, respectively, and thus would have provided effective seals to trap free gas. The relation between permeability and porosity critically influences the occurrence of GH. For example, an average increase of 4% in porosity increases permeability by an order of magnitude, but the presence of a second fluid (e.g., methane from dissociating gas hydrate) in the reservoir reduces permeability by more than an order of magnitude.     

Seismic imaging of a fractured gas hydrate system in the Krishna–Godavari Basin offshore India

Gas hydrate was discovered in the Krishna–Godavari (KG) Basin during the India National Gas Hydrate Program (NGHP) Expedition 1 at Site NGHP-01-10 within a fractured clay-dominated sedimentary system. Logging-while-drilling (LWD), coring, and wire-line logging confirmed gas hydrate dominantly in fractures at four borehole sites spanning a 500 m transect. Three-dimensional (3D) seismic data were subsequently used to image the fractured system and explain the occurrence of gas hydrate associated with the fractures. A system of two fault-sets was identified, part of a typical passive margin tectonic setting. The LWD-derived fracture network at Hole NGHP-01-10A is to some extent seen in the seismic data and was mapped using seismic coherency attributes. The fractured system around Site NGHP-01-10 extends over a triangular-shaped area of ∼2.5 km² defined using seismic attributes of the seafloor reflection, as well as “seismic sweetness” at the base of the gas hydrate occurrence zone. The triangular shaped area is also showing a polygonal (nearly hexagonal) fault pattern, distinct from other more rectangular fault patterns observed in the study area. The occurrence of gas hydrate at Site NGHP-01-10 is the result of a specific combination of tectonic fault orientations and the abundance of free gas migration from a deeper gas source. The triangular-shaped area of enriched gas hydrate occurrence is bound by two faults acting as migration conduits. Additionally, the fault-associated sediment deformation provides a possible migration pathway for the free gas from the deeper gas source into the gas hydrate stability zone. It is proposed that there are additional locations in the KG Basin with possible gas hydrate accumulation of similar tectonic conditions, and one such location was identified from the 3D seismic data ˜6 km NW of Site NGHP-01-10.     

Formation history and physical properties of sediments from the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope

The synthesis of available geological information and surface temperature evolution in the Alaska North Slope region suggests that: biogenic and deeper thermogenic gases migrated through fault networks and preferentially invaded coarse-grained layers that have relatively high hydraulic conductivity and low gas entry pressures; hydrate started forming before the beginning of the permafrost; eventually, the permafrost deepened and any remaining free water froze so that ice and hydrate may coexist at some elevations. The single tested specimen (depth 620.47-620.62 m) from the D unit consists of uncemented quartzitic fine sand with a high fraction of fines (56% by mass finer than sieve #200). The as-received specimen shows no evidence of gas present. The surface texture of sediment grains is compatible with a fluvial-deltaic sedimentation environment and shows no signs of glacial entrainment. Tests conducted on sediments with and without THF hydrates show that effective stress, porosity, and hydrate saturation are the major controls on the mechanical and geophysical properties. Previously derived relationships between these variables and mechanical/geophysical parameters properly fit the measurements gathered with Mount Elbert specimens at different hydrate saturations and effective stress levels. We show that these measurements can be combined with index properties and empirical geomechanical relationships to estimate engineering design parameters. Volumetric strains measured during hydrate dissociation vanish at 2-4 MPa; therefore, minimal volumetric strains are anticipated during gas production at the Mount Elbert well. However, volume changes could increase if extensive grain crushing takes place during depressurization-driven production strategies, if the sediment has unexpectedly high in situ porosity associated to the formation history, or if fines migration and clogging cause a situation of sustained sand production.     

Pore fluid geochemistry from the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope

The BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well was drilled and cored from 606.5 to 760.1 m on the North Slope of Alaska, to evaluate the occurrence, distribution and formation of gas hydrate in sediments below the base of the ice-bearing permafrost. Both the dissolved chloride and the isotopic composition of the water co-vary in the gas hydrate-bearing zones, consistent with gas hydrate dissociation during core recovery, and they provide independent indicators to constrain the zone of gas hydrate occurrence. Analyses of chloride and water isotope data indicate that an observed increase in salinity towards the top of the cored section reflects the presence of residual fluids from ion exclusion during ice formation at the base of the permafrost layer. These salinity changes are the main factor controlling major and minor ion distributions in the Mount Elbert Well. The resulting background chloride can be simulated with a one-dimensional diffusion model, and the results suggest that the ion exclusion at the top of the cored section reflects deepening of the permafrost layer following the last glaciation (∼100 kyr), consistent with published thermal models. Gas hydrate saturation values estimated from dissolved chloride agree with estimates based on logging data when the gas hydrate occupies more than 20% of the pore space; the correlation is less robust at lower saturation values. The highest gas hydrate concentrations at the Mount Elbert Well are clearly associated with coarse-grained sedimentary sections, as expected from theoretical calculations and field observations in marine and other arctic sediment cores.     

Mud volcanoes and gas hydrates in the Anaximander mountains (Eastern Mediterranean Sea)

Detailed multibeam, sedimentological, and geophysical surveys provide ample new data to confirm that the Anaximander Mountains (Eastern Mediterranean) are an important area for active mud volcanism and gas hydrate formation. More than 3000 km of multibeam track length was acquired during two recent missions and 80 gravity and box cores were recovered. Morphology and backscatter data of the study area have better resolution than previous surveys, and very detailed morphology maps have been made of the known targeted mud volcanoes (Amsterdam, Kazan and Kula), especially the Amsterdam “crater” and the related mud breccia flows. Gas hydrates collected repeatedly from a large area of Amsterdam mud volcano at a sub-bottom depth of around 0.3–1.5 m resemble compacted snow and have a rather flaky form. New gas hydrate sites were found at Amsterdam mud volcano, including the mud flow sloping off to the south. Gas hydrates sampled for the first time at Kazan mud volcano are dispersed throughout the core samples deeper than 0.3 m and display a ‘rice’-like appearance. Relative chronology and AMS dating of interbedded pelagic sediments (Late Holocene hemipelagic, sapropel layer S1 and ash layers) within the mud flows indicate that successive eruptions of Kula mud volcano have a periodicity of about 5–10 kyrs. New mud volcanoes identified on the basis of multibeam backscatter intensity were sampled, documented as active and named “Athina” and “Thessaloniki”. Gas hydrates were sampled also in Thessaloniki mud volcano, the shallowest (1264 m) among all the active Mediterranean sites, at the boundary of the gas hydrate stability zone. Biostratigraphical analyses of mud breccia clasts indicated that the source of the subsurface sedimentary sequences consists of Late Cretaceous limestones, Paleocene siliciclastic rocks, Eocene biogenic limestones and Miocene mudstones. Rough estimations of the total capacity of the Anaximander mud volcanoes in methane gas are 2.56–6.40 km³.     

Microbial community distribution in sediments from the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope

We studied the microbial communities collected from hydrate-bearing sediments on the North Slope of Alaska to determine how abiotic variables (e.g., grain size, hydrate presence, formation fluid gases) may correspond to the type and distribution of microbes in the sediments. The cores were acquired from sub-permafrost, Eocene (46-55 million year old) sediments in the BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well within which hydrates are believed to have formed 1.5 mya. Forty samples, eight of which originally contained hydrates, were acquired from depths of ca. 606-666 m below land surface. Five drilling fluid samples acquired from the same depth range were included in the analysis as a control for possible contamination by drilling fluid microbes during the drilling and handling of cores. DNA was extracted from 15 samples (typically <1 ng DNA/g sediment was recovered) and then amplified using polymerase chain reaction with primers specific for bacterial and archaeal 16S rDNA genes, which indicates the likelihood that microbes were present in all analyzed samples. Only bacterial DNA amplicons were detected. Terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) was used to measure bacterial diversity in the respective samples. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS) was used to determine the abiotic variables that may have influenced bacterial diversity. NMS analysis revealed that the microbial taxa present in the sediment were distinct from the taxa present in the drilling fluids suggesting that the sediments were not contaminated by the drilling fluids. Multi-response permutation procedures (MRPP) found no significant difference between three sample groups identified a priori as being from within a hydrate zone, outside of hydrate zone, or on the edge of a hydrate/non-hydrate zone according to downhole nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy logs. However, among the several other abiotic parameters that were evaluated mud gas methane concentration and variables related to hydrate presence (e.g., chloride concentration, salinity, and resistivity) appeared to define the arrangement of microbial community signatures in plots resulting from NMS analysis. Communities from hydrate and non-hydrate layers each contained unique taxa as determined by the T-RFLP assay.     

The mechanism and verification analysis of permafrost-associated gas hydrate formation in the Qilian Mountain,Northwest China

Muri Basin in the Qilian Mountain is the only permafrost area in China where gas hydrate samples have been obtained through scientific drilling. Fracture-filling hydrate is the main type of gas hydrate found in the Qilian Mountain permafrost. Most of gas hydrate samples had been found in a thin-layer-like, flake and block group in a fracture of Jurassic mudstone and oil shale, although some pore-filling hydrate was found in porous sandstone. The mechanism for gas hydrate formation in the Qilian Mountain permafrost is as follows: gas generation from source rock was controlled by tectonic subsidence and uplift--gas migration and accumulation was controlled by fault and tight formation--gas hydrate formation and accumulation was controlled by permafrost. Some control factors for gas hydrate formation in the Qilian Mountain permafrost were analyzed and validated through numerical analysis and laboratory experiments. CSMGem was used to estimate the gas hydrate stability zone in the Qilian permafrost at a depth of 100–400 m. This method was used to analyze the gas composition of gas hydrate to determine the gas composition before gas hydrate formation. When the overlying formation of gas accumulation zone had a permeability of 0.05 × 10⁻¹⁵ m² and water saturation of more than 0.8, gas from deep source rocks was sealed up to form the gas accumulation zone. Fracture-filling hydrate was formed in the overlap area of gas hydrate stability zone and gas accumulation zone. The experimental results showed that the lithology of reservoir played a key role in controlling the occurrence and distribution of gas hydrate in the Qilian Mountain permafrost.     

High-resolution well-log derived dielectric properties of gas-hydrate-bearing sediments, Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope

A dielectric logging tool, electromagnetic propagation tool (EPT), was deployed in 2007 in the BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well (Mount Elbert Well), North Slope, Alaska. The measured dielectric properties in the Mount Elbert well, combined with density log measurements, result in a vertical high-resolution (cm-scale) estimate of gas hydrate saturation. Two hydrate-bearing sand reservoirs about 20 m thick were identified using the EPT log and exhibited gas-hydrate saturation estimates ranging from 45% to 85%. In hydrate-bearing zones where variation of hole size and oil-based mud invasion are minimal, EPT-based gas hydrate saturation estimates on average agree well with lower vertical resolution estimates from the nuclear magnetic resonance logs; however, saturation and porosity estimates based on EPT logs are not reliable in intervals with substantial variations in borehole diameter and oil-based invasion.EPT log interpretation reveals many thin-bedded layers at various depths, both above and below the thick continuous hydrate occurrences, which range from 30-cm to about 1-m thick. Such thin layers are not indicated in other well logs, or from the visual observation of core, with the exception of the image log recorded by the oil-base microimager. We also observe that EPT dielectric measurements can be used to accurately detect fine-scale changes in lithology and pore fluid properties of hydrate-bearing sediments where variation of hole size is minimal. EPT measurements may thus provide high-resolution in-situ hydrate saturation estimates for comparison and calibration with laboratory analysis.     

Gas hydrate characterization and grain-scale imaging of recovered cores from the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope

Using cryogenic scanning electron microscopy (CSEM), powder X-ray diffraction, and gas chromatography methods, we investigated the physical states, grain characteristics, gas composition, and methane isotopic composition of two gas-hydrate-bearing sections of core recovered from the BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well situated on the Alaska North Slope. The well was continuously cored from 606.5 m to 760.1 m depth, and sections investigated here were retrieved from 619.9 m and 661.0 m depth. X-ray analysis and imaging of the sediment phase in both sections shows it consists of a predominantly fine-grained and well-sorted quartz sand with lesser amounts of feldspar, muscovite, and minor clays. Cryogenic SEM shows the gas-hydrate phase forming primarily as a pore-filling material between the sediment grains at approximately 70-75% saturation, and more sporadically as thin veins typically several tens of microns in diameter. Pore throat diameters vary, but commonly range 20-120 microns. Gas chromatography analyses of the hydrate-forming gas show that it is comprised of mainly methane (>99.9%), indicating that the gas hydrate is structure I. Here we report on the distribution and articulation of the gas-hydrate phase within the cores, the grain morphology of the hydrate, the composition of the sediment host, and the composition of the hydrate-forming gas.     

A margin-wide BSR gas hydrate assessment: Canada’s Atlantic margin

It is the intent of this paper to explore a significant extent of an entire passive continental margin for hydrate occurrence to understand hydrate modes of occurrence, preferred geologic settings and estimate potential volumes of methane. The presence of gas hydrates offshore of eastern Canada has long been inferred from estimated stability zone calculations, but little physical evidence has been offered. An extensive set of 2-D and 3-D, single and multi-channel seismic reflection data comprising in excess of 140,000 line-km was analyzed. Bottom simulating reflections (BSR) were unequivocally identified at seven sites, ranging between 250 and 445 m below the seafloor and in water depths of 620-2850 m. The combined area of the BSRs is 9311 km², which comprises a small proportion of the entire theoretical stability zone along the Canadian Atlantic margin (∼715,165 km²). The BSR within at least six of these sites lies in a sedimentary drift deposit or sediment wave field, indicating the likelihood of grain sorting and potential porosity and permeability (reservoir) development. Although there are a variety of conditions required to generate and recognize a BSR, one might assume that these sites offer the most potential for highest hydrate concentration and exploitation. Total hydrate in formation at the sites of recognized BSR’s is estimated at 17 to 190 × 10⁹ m³ or 0.28 to 3.12 × 10¹³ m³ of methane gas at STP. Although it has been shown that hydrate can exist without a BSR, the results from this regional study argue that conservative estimates of the global reserve of hydrate along continental margins are necessary.     

Evidence for gas hydrate occurrences in the Canadian Arctic Beaufort Sea within permafrost-associated shelf and deep-water marine environments

The presence of a wedge of offshore permafrost on the shelf of the Canadian Beaufort Sea has been previously recognized and the consequence of a prolonged occurrence of such permafrost is the possibility of an underlying gas hydrate regime. We present the first evidence for wide-spread occurrences of gas hydrates across the shelf in water depths of 60–100 m using 3D and 2D multichannel seismic (MCS) data. A reflection with a polarity opposite to the seafloor was identified ∼1000 m below the seafloor that mimics some of the bottom-simulating reflections (BSRs) in marine gas hydrate regimes. However, the reflection is not truly bottom-simulating, as its depth is controlled by offshore permafrost. The depth of the reflection decreases with increasing water depth, as predicted from thermal modeling of the late Wisconsin transgression. The reflection crosscuts strata and defines a zone of enhanced reflectivity beneath it, which originates from free gas accumulated at the phase boundary over time as permafrost and associated gas hydrate stability zones thin in response to the transgression. The wide-spread gas hydrate occurrence beneath permafrost has implications on the region including drilling hazards associated with the presence of free gas, possible overpressure, lateral migration of fluids and expulsion at the seafloor. In contrast to the permafrost-associated gas hydrates, a deep-water marine BSR was also identified on MCS profiles. The MCS data show a polarity-reversed seismic reflection associated with a low-velocity zone beneath it. The seismic data coverage in the southern Beaufort Sea shows that the deep-water marine BSR is not uniformly present across the entire region. The regional discrepancy of the BSR occurrence between the US Alaska portion and the Mackenzie Delta region may be a result of high sedimentation rates expected for the central Mackenzie delta and high abundance of mass-transport deposits that prohibit gas to accumulate within and beneath the gas hydrate stability zone.     

A comparative study between present and palaeo-heat flow in the Qiangtang Basin,northern Tibet,China

The Qiangtang Basin is a significant prospective area for hydrocarbon and gas hydrate resources in the Tibetan Plateau, China. However, relatively little work has been performed to characterise heat flow in this basin, which has restricted petroleum and gas hydrate exploration. In this study, we compare present and palaeo-heat flow in the Qiangtang Basin to provide information on geothermal regime, hydrocarbon generation and permafrost that is necessary for further petroleum and gas hydrate exploration. We base our study on temperature data from a thermometer well, thermal conductivity tests, vitrinite reflectance data, homogenisation temperature data from fluid inclusions, stratigraphic information and a time-independent modelling approach. Our results indicate that in the central Qiangtang Basin, the present thermal gradient is approximately 15.5 °C/km, and heat flow is approximately 46.69 mW/m². Heat flow in the Qiangtang Basin is not relatively stable since the Early Jurassic, as previous research has suggested, and it is generally decreasing with time. Additionally, there is a clear difference between the hottest thermal regime of the southern and northern Qiangtang Depressions during Cretaceous to Pleistocene time. In the southern Qiangtang Depression, the palaeogeothermal gradient is approximately 32.0 °C/km, and palaeo-heat flow is approximately 70 mW/m². However, in the northern Qiangtang Depression, the palaeogeothermal gradient exceeds 81.8 °C/km, and palaeo-heat flow is greater than 172.09 mW/m². The high thermal regime in the northern Qiangtang Depression is driven mainly by hydrothermal convection. Gas reservoirs are possible targets for hydrocarbon exploration in this depression. Currently, the northwestern part of the northern Qiangtang Depression is the most favourable area for gas hydrate exploration in the Qiangtang Basin.     

Core lithologies and their constraints on gas-hydrate occurrence in the East Sea, offshore Korea: Results from the site UBGH1-9

Drilling at the site UBGH1-9, offshore Korea in 2007, revealed varied gas-hydrate saturation with depth and a wide variety of core litholgies, demonstrating how the variations in the lithology are linked with those in gas-hydrate saturation and morphology. Discrete excursions to low chlorinity values from in situ background chlorinity level occur between 63 and 151 mbsf. In this occurrence zone, gas-hydrate saturations estimated from the low chlorinity anomalies range up to 63.5% of pore volume with an average of 9.9% and do not show a clear depth-dependent trend. Sedimentary facies analysis based on grain-size distribution and sedimentary structures revealed nine sediment facies which mainly represent hemipelagic muds and fine- to medium-grained turbidites. According to the sedimentary facies distribution, the core sediments are divided into three facies associations (FA): FA I (0–98 mbsf) consisting mainly of alternating thin- to medium-bedded hemipelagic mud and turbidite sand or mud beds, FA II (98–126 mbsf) dominated by medium- to very thick-bedded turbidite sand or sandy debris flow beds, and FA III (126–178 mbsf) characterized by thick hemipelagic mud without intervening discrete turbidite sand layers. Thermal anomalies from IR scan, mousse-like and soupy structures on split-core surfaces, non-destructive measurements of pressure cores, and comparison of gas-hydrate saturations with sand contents of corresponding pore-water squeeze cakes, collectively suggest that the gas hydrate at the site UBGH1-9 generally occurs in two different types: “pore-filling” type preferentially associated with thin- to medium-turbidite sand beds in the FA I and “fracture-filling” type which occurs as hydrate veins or nodules in hemipelagic mud of the FA III. Gas-hydrate saturation in the FA II is generally anomalously low despite the dominance of turbidite sand or sandy debris flow beds, suggesting insufficient methane supply.