Investigation of the hydrate reservoir production under different depressurization modes

Abstract

Large reserves of natural gas hydrates exist, and the depressurization method has the greatest potential for gas hydrate reservoir recovery. Currently, the most commonly adopted depressurization simulation method is a constant bottom-hole pressure production scheme. This study proposes a new depressurization mode with decreasing bottom-hole pressure. The production characteristic was numerically investigated using this method. The results show the following: (1) As the depressurization exponent (n) decreases, the development effect improves, and production indexes including cumulative gas production/dissociation and gas-water ratio increase. However, the reservoir energy consumption is higher and the hydrate reformation is more severe. (2) Compared to the proposed depressurization mode, the hydrate production index of the constant bottom-hole pressure production (n?=?0) is better. However, the hydrate reservoir energy consumption is higher and the hydrate reformation is more severe using constant bottom-hole pressure production. (3) To achieve a balance between production and reservoir energy consumption during depressurization production, the bottom-hole pressure should be controlled by selecting a suitable depressurization exponent between n_min and n_max, which can be determined through numerical simulations.     

Relationship between Shot-Induced Noise and Shot Interval in Seismic Refraction Experiments at Sea

Seismic noise induced by the seismic source during continuous profiling reduces the signal-to-noise ratio and hence the data quality. This noise is largely dependent on the shot interval. In this paper, the noise amplitude of refraction seismic records from a special experiment is analysed as a function of the shot interval. An empirical exponential relationship between mean peak noise amplitude and shot interval is deduced. By increasing the shot interval, the induced noise can be minimized on all successive records. This results in an improvement of the data, predominantly the signal-to-noise ratio. Because the seismic signal and the shot-induced noise have nearly the same spectra, the chance of improving the signal-to-noise ratio by stacking is significantly reduced.     

Dereverberation of marine reflection seismic data by a spatial combination of predictive deconvolution and velocity filtering

Contamination of seismic reflection records at early times by first-order water reverberations can be especially severe during survey operations over hard and flat sea floors on the continental shelf or in lake environments. A new dereverberation scheme based on two classical techniques — predictive deconvolution and velocity filtering — has been developed to address this problem. The techniques are combined spatially to take advantage of their complementary offset- and time-dependent properties. Stage I of the scheme consists of applying predictive deconvolution at short offset. The data are previously conditioned by a normal moveout correction with the water velocity which restores the periodicity of the reverberations in the offset-time plane and enhances the performance of deconvolution. Stage II of the scheme involves velocity filtering in the common-midpoint domain which is particularly effective at long offset where the moveout difference between primary reflections and reverberations is largest. The dereverberation scheme is well suited for the initial processing of large volumes of data due to the general availability of cost-effective deconvolution and velocity filtering algorithms in seismic processing software packages. Practical implementation issues are illustrated by a field example from the GLIMPCE survey in Lake Superior.Lithoprobe Publication No. 475.     

Design of a 3D Chirp Sub-bottom Imaging System

Chirp sub-bottom profilers are marine acoustic devices that use a known and repeatable source signature (1–24 kHz) to produce decimetre vertical resolution cross-sections of the sub-seabed. Here the design and development of the first true 3D Chirp system is described. When developing the design, critical factors that had to be considered included spatial aliasing, and precise positioning of sources and receivers. Full 3D numerical modelling of the combined source and receiver directivity was completed to determine optimal source and receiver geometries. The design incorporates four source transducers (1.5–13 kHz) that can be arranged into different configurations, including Maltese Cross, a square and two separated pairs. The receive array comprises 240 hydrophones in 60 groups whose group-centres are separated by 25 cm in both horizontal directions, with each hydrophone group containing four individual elements and a pre-amplifier. After careful consideration, it was concluded that the only way to determine with sufficient accuracy the source–receiver geometry, was to fix the sources and receivers within a rigid array. Positional information for the array is given by a Real Time Kinematic GPS and attitude system incorporating four antennas to give position, heading, pitch and roll. It is shown that this system offers vertical positioning accuracy with a root-mean-square (rms) error less than 2.6 cm, while the horizontal positioning rms error was less than 2.0 cm. The system is configured so that the Chirp source signature can be chosen by software aboard the acquisition vessel. The complete system is described and initial navigational and seismic data results are presented. These data demonstrate that the approach of using fixed source-receiver geometry combined with RTK navigation can provide complete 3D imaging of the sub-surface.     

海洋天然气水合物的地震识别方法研究

天然气水合物作为21世纪新的自然能源将为人类的生存发展服务。20世纪60年代证实，俄罗斯西伯利亚的麦索亚哈气田为典型的天然气水合物形成的气田，70年代又在海底发现了固体天然气水合物岩样。1971年，RStoll首先将地震剖面中的似海底反向层解释为海洋天然气水合物存在的标志，后来被深海钻探证实，从此地震方法成为大面积研究天然气水合物的重要手段。天然气水合物既是潜在能源，也是影响环境和形成灾害的因素之一，因此，研究天然气水合物是人类在21世纪的重要课题。探讨海洋天然气水合物的地震识别方法，由于这项工作刚刚起步，还没有做出具体的成果，在此只能根据我们仅有的工作和参照国外分开的出版物，以及出国访问得到的有关资料进行分析，提出我们的一些基本设想，与各位专家探讨。     

Effect of Sea Level Variation on Tidal Characteristic Values for the East China Sea

1 .IntroductionTheglobalairtemperatureroseabout 0 .5～ 0 .6°Coverthepast 2 0thcentury ,andtheglobalmeansealevelincreasedbyabout2 0cmduringtheperiod .Theregionalmeansealevelriseswiththerisingglobalmeansealevel.Zuoetal.( 1 997)indicatedthatthemeanrisingrateofabsolutemeansealevelalongtheChinacoastontheassumptionofunifiedisostaticdatumis 2mm a .Woodworth( 1 999)analyzedsealevelspanning 1 76 8tothepresentinLiverpool,andobtainedaseculartrendforheperiodupto 1 880of0 .39± 0 .1 7mm a ,andatrendfort…     

广东红海湾、珠江口及电白—阳江近海第四纪沉积

根据物探和钻探资料，研究区内第四纪沉积物可分为两部分，下部地震反射结构复杂，斜层理发育，粒度较粗，为晚更新世产物；上部的地震反射结构简单，呈水平状或近水平状结构，粒度较细，为全新世沉积。     

Southern Segment of the European Geotraverse — a wide-angle seismic refraction experiment in the Sardinia Channel

The Sardinia Channel dataset was collected as part of the European Geotraverse (EGT)—a 4000 km seismic refraction line running from Northern Norway to the Sahara, designed to investigate the structure of the lithosphere beneath Europe. Wideangle seismic data recorded by ocean bottom seismometers deployed in the Sardinia Channel as part of the Southern Segment of the EGT, together with gravity data, were used to constrain the final crustal model. In the centre of the Channel the crust is identified as thinned continental in nature, with a crystalline thickness of 10 km overlain by 4 km of sediments and 2.5 km of water in the most extended region. High velocities in the lower crust in the central region are thought to represent an area of underplating or intrusion by igneous material caused by extension related to the opening of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The crust overlies an anomalously low velocity upper mantle.     

A technique for conducting seismic refraction experiments on the ocean bed using bottom shots

A technique has been devised for firing arrays of bottom shots on the ocean bed in depths upto 4000 m or more. Ten kilogram explosive charges are dropped from the surface while the shooting ship is navigated acoustically. They are detonated at preset times by an electronic timer which initiates an electrical detonator, detonating cord and cast PETN/TNT explosive. Ranges to ocean bottom seismographs, and the shot instants, can be calculated from the arrival-time differences of the direct and surface-reflected water waves. The accuracy, which is dependent on water-depth and range, was better than 22 m in range and 14 msec in shot instant for our experiments.