Investigation on the Secondary Generation of Natural Gas Hydrates in Horizontal Wellbore Caused by Pressure Jump during the Depressurization Development of Hydrate Bearing Layers

When the depressurization development of a hydrate-bearing layer is initiated, the temperature of the near-wellbore formation quickly decreases to near the equilibrium temperature due to the dissociation of natural gas hydrate Therefore, the secondary generation of natural gas hydrates in the wellbo...

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Main Authors: Qingjun Du, Yongge Liu, Jian Hou, Lina Shi, Wenbin Wang, Kang Zhou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2020-01-01
Series:Geofluids
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8815455
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author Qingjun Du
Yongge Liu
Jian Hou
Lina Shi
Wenbin Wang
Kang Zhou
author_facet Qingjun Du
Yongge Liu
Jian Hou
Lina Shi
Wenbin Wang
Kang Zhou
author_sort Qingjun Du
collection DOAJ
description When the depressurization development of a hydrate-bearing layer is initiated, the temperature of the near-wellbore formation quickly decreases to near the equilibrium temperature due to the dissociation of natural gas hydrate Therefore, the secondary generation of natural gas hydrates in the wellbore easily occurs if pressure jumps to a high value due to the changes of production rates or shutdown of the well. Though hydrate generation in the process of high-pressure drilling and gas and water transportation has been widely investigated, the secondary generation of natural gas hydrates caused by pressure jump during the depressurization development process is not fully understood. In this study, the multiphase pipe flow of a horizontal well, the Vyniauskas–Bishnoi generation dynamics of natural gas hydrate, and a decomposition dynamics model developed by Kim and Bishnoi are combined to build a set of horizontal well gas–liquid–solid three-phase flow models, which consider the phase transition in the wellbore and distinguished the secondary hydrate generation area in the wellbore under different temperature and pressure conditions. The results show that when the toe-end pressure is 7 MPa and the environment temperature is 6.4°C, the secondary hydrate generation exists in the horizontal section of the horizontal well, and the maximum hydrate flow velocity in the wellbore is 0.044 m3/d. A high toe-end pressure, low environment temperature, and high gas output will result in a greater hydrate generation in the wellbore, and the wellbore pressure will have a remarkable influence on the amount generated and its range.
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spelling doaj-art-bb13019ac35c4b3080ff30955fa671ae2025-08-20T02:19:11ZengWileyGeofluids1468-81151468-81232020-01-01202010.1155/2020/88154558815455Investigation on the Secondary Generation of Natural Gas Hydrates in Horizontal Wellbore Caused by Pressure Jump during the Depressurization Development of Hydrate Bearing LayersQingjun Du0Yongge Liu1Jian Hou2Lina Shi3Wenbin Wang4Kang Zhou5Key Laboratory of Unconventional Oil & Gas Development (China University of Petroleum (East China)), Ministry of Education, Qingdao 266580, ChinaKey Laboratory of Unconventional Oil & Gas Development (China University of Petroleum (East China)), Ministry of Education, Qingdao 266580, ChinaKey Laboratory of Unconventional Oil & Gas Development (China University of Petroleum (East China)), Ministry of Education, Qingdao 266580, ChinaKey Laboratory of Unconventional Oil & Gas Development (China University of Petroleum (East China)), Ministry of Education, Qingdao 266580, ChinaKey Laboratory of Unconventional Oil & Gas Development (China University of Petroleum (East China)), Ministry of Education, Qingdao 266580, ChinaKey Laboratory of Unconventional Oil & Gas Development (China University of Petroleum (East China)), Ministry of Education, Qingdao 266580, ChinaWhen the depressurization development of a hydrate-bearing layer is initiated, the temperature of the near-wellbore formation quickly decreases to near the equilibrium temperature due to the dissociation of natural gas hydrate Therefore, the secondary generation of natural gas hydrates in the wellbore easily occurs if pressure jumps to a high value due to the changes of production rates or shutdown of the well. Though hydrate generation in the process of high-pressure drilling and gas and water transportation has been widely investigated, the secondary generation of natural gas hydrates caused by pressure jump during the depressurization development process is not fully understood. In this study, the multiphase pipe flow of a horizontal well, the Vyniauskas–Bishnoi generation dynamics of natural gas hydrate, and a decomposition dynamics model developed by Kim and Bishnoi are combined to build a set of horizontal well gas–liquid–solid three-phase flow models, which consider the phase transition in the wellbore and distinguished the secondary hydrate generation area in the wellbore under different temperature and pressure conditions. The results show that when the toe-end pressure is 7 MPa and the environment temperature is 6.4°C, the secondary hydrate generation exists in the horizontal section of the horizontal well, and the maximum hydrate flow velocity in the wellbore is 0.044 m3/d. A high toe-end pressure, low environment temperature, and high gas output will result in a greater hydrate generation in the wellbore, and the wellbore pressure will have a remarkable influence on the amount generated and its range.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8815455
spellingShingle Qingjun Du
Yongge Liu
Jian Hou
Lina Shi
Wenbin Wang
Kang Zhou
Investigation on the Secondary Generation of Natural Gas Hydrates in Horizontal Wellbore Caused by Pressure Jump during the Depressurization Development of Hydrate Bearing Layers
Geofluids
title Investigation on the Secondary Generation of Natural Gas Hydrates in Horizontal Wellbore Caused by Pressure Jump during the Depressurization Development of Hydrate Bearing Layers
title_full Investigation on the Secondary Generation of Natural Gas Hydrates in Horizontal Wellbore Caused by Pressure Jump during the Depressurization Development of Hydrate Bearing Layers
title_fullStr Investigation on the Secondary Generation of Natural Gas Hydrates in Horizontal Wellbore Caused by Pressure Jump during the Depressurization Development of Hydrate Bearing Layers
title_full_unstemmed Investigation on the Secondary Generation of Natural Gas Hydrates in Horizontal Wellbore Caused by Pressure Jump during the Depressurization Development of Hydrate Bearing Layers
title_short Investigation on the Secondary Generation of Natural Gas Hydrates in Horizontal Wellbore Caused by Pressure Jump during the Depressurization Development of Hydrate Bearing Layers
title_sort investigation on the secondary generation of natural gas hydrates in horizontal wellbore caused by pressure jump during the depressurization development of hydrate bearing layers
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8815455
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