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Natural gas

Advances in Marine Natural Gas Hydrate Reservoirs Pave the Way for Efficient Energy Harvesting

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Researchers from China University of Petroleum have made significant breakthroughs in the study of marine natural gas hydrate (NGH) reservoirs, a promising energy resource. According to a recent publication in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, the team developed a three-dimensional fluid-solid coupling model to analyze the effects of various factors on fracturing behavior in NGH reservoirs. Their research, funded by the National Key Research And Development Program of China, demonstrated that selecting optimal fracturing parameters can achieve a balance between stimulated reservoir volume and cross-layer risk.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study developed a 3D fluid-solid coupling model to analyze the effects of sediment plasticity, hydrate saturation, fracturing fluid viscosity, and injection rate on fracturing behavior in NGH reservoirs.
  • Results showed that selecting low-plastic reservoirs with high hydrate saturation ( * * S [ [H] ] * * 50%) and adopting an optimal combination of fracturing fluid viscosity and injection rate can achieve the co-optimization of stimulated reservoir volume (SRV) and cross-layer risk.
  • In multi-cluster fracturing, inter-fracture stress interference promotes the propagation of fractures along the fracture plane while suppressing it in the normal direction of the fracture plane.
  • The effect of inter-fracture stress interference diminishes significantly at a cluster spacing of 9 m.
  • The research provided valuable insights for the selection of optimal multi-cluster fracturing parameters for marine NGH reservoirs.
  • The study's findings have implications for improving the efficiency of energy harvesting from NGH reservoirs.

Statistics:

  • 50%: The optimal hydrate saturation required for optimal fracturing performance.
  • 9 m: The cluster spacing at which the effect of inter-fracture stress interference diminishes.
  • 13(7): The page number of the research paper in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering.

Sources:

  • Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 2025, 13(7): 1224. (Journal of Marine Science and Engineering - http://www.mdpi.com/journal/jmse)
  • Numerical Simulation of Multi-Cluster Fracture Propagation in Marine Natural Gas Hydrate Reservoirs, China University of Petroleum, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
  • Lisha Liao, College of Safety and Ocean Engineering, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, People's Republic of China.
  • National Key Research And Development Program of China.

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