NATURAL GAS HYDRATES cont..

It is highly inflammable and are called "Fiery ice"

or Ice that burns

PRODUCTION METHODS
There are three mainly used production methods are

1. DEPRUSSURIZATION.
2. THERMAL STIMULATION
3. CHEMICAL INHIBITION

PRODUCTION METHODS Cotd..

1. DEPRUSSURIZATION.
. Its objective is to lower the pressure in the free-gas
zone immediately beneath the hydrate stability zone,
causing the hydrate at the base of the hydrate stability
zone to decompose and the freed gas to move toward
a wellbore.
.

PRODUCTION METHODS Cotd..

2. THERMAL STIMULATION.
which a source of heat provided directly in the form of
injected steam or hot water or another heated liquid, or
indirectly via electric or sonic means.
It is applied to the hydrate stability zone to raise its
temperature, causing the hydrate to decompose.
The direct approach could be accomplished in either of
two modes: a frontal sweep similar to the steam floods
that are routinely used to produce heavy oil, or by
pumping hot liquid through a vertical fracture between
an injection well and a production well.

PRODUCTION METHODS Cotd..

3. CHEMICAL INHIBITION.
It is similar in concept to the chemical means presently
used to inhibit the formation of water ice.
This method seeks to displace the natural gas hydrate
equilibrium condition beyond the hydrate stability zones
thermodynamic conditions through injection of a liquid
inhibitor chemical adjacent to the hydrate.

PRODUCTION METHODS Cotd..

Fig:3 Schematic of proposed gas hydrate production

methods: (a) thermal injection (b) depressurization, and (c)
inhibitor or other additive.

TRANSPORTATION
There are at least three ways to transport the gas
ashore;
by conventional pipeline;
by converting the gas hydrates to liquid middle distillates
via the newly-improved Fischer-Tropsch process and
loading it onto a conventional tanker or barge; or
by reconverting the gas into solid hydrate and shipping it
ashore in a close-to-conventional ship or barge

SAFETY &ENVIRONMENTAL
CONCERNS
Normal drilling can generate enough downhole heat to
decompose surrounding hydrates, possibly resulting in
loss of the well.
While large volumes of oceanic natural gas hydrate
deposits are known to have decomposed in the past
absent human influence.
It is clear that the release of large quantities of methane
into the atmosphere, can cause increase its greenhouse
capability since methane is 21 times more potent a
greenhouse gas than is CO2.

APPLICATIONS
used in power generation.
urea fertilizer production.
room heating& cooking .

CHALLENGES
During drilling wells as part of the development of gas
hydrate will produce significant amount of cuttings
containing methane gas.
CO2 produced when methane is burned as a fuel.
methane itself is a greenhouse gas with 21 times than of
carbon dioxide.
High cost for long pipe lines across unstable continental
slops.

COMPARISONS
The natural gas is found is gaseous state, while gas
hydrate is a solid .
When natural gas is burned, it emits CO2, leads to
global warming. But the amount released is less than
that of coal or oil is burned.
Oil and coal, emit air pollutants like SO2 & nitrogen
oxides. But in natural gas no such emissions.
Methane gas is the cleanest fuel, because it emits
minimum residue in the environment.

CONCLUSION
exploration and quantification of gas- hydrates are very
much required for evaluating the resource potential and
hazard assessment.
Proper exploitation of methane at one hand can meet
the ever-increasing demand of energy and on the other
hand will reduce the environmental and submarine geohazard.
There are several technical problems in extracting and
producing gas from gas-hydrates at this moment.
The recoverability of gas from gas hydrate may be
evaluated if the hydrate occurs in unfrozen sandy
sediments

REFERENCES
Sain, K., ZeIt, C.A., and Reddy,P.R., 2002.Imaging of subvolcanic
Mesozoics using traveltime inversion of wide-angle seismic data in the
Saurastra peninsula of India, Geophysical Journal International, 150,
Global Resource Potential of Gas Hydrate ANew Calculation By Arthur H.
Johnson (Hydrate Energy International) ,vol 11,issue 2,methane hydrate
news letter .
The 2nd South Asain Geoscience Conference and
Exhibition,GEOIndia2011, 12-14th Jan,2011,Gearter Noida,New
Delhi,India ,Asit Kumar Samadder, Petrophysist, ONGC , Mumbai,India
Exploration of Gas Hydrate and the present global scenario.
Gas Hydrates Resource Potential of South Asia, Published by SAARC
Energy Centre Plot No. 18, Street No. 6, Sector - H9/1 Islamabad,
Pakistan ,Mr .m .jamaluddin, Mr .malcolm v. lall.
Alternative energy sources: Methane hydrates in from the cold By Michael
Richardson For the Straits Times, 12 April 2010.