Charting the Future of Methane Hydrate Research in the United States (2004) / Chapter Skim
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3 A Review of Methane Hydrate Research and Development Projects to Date
3 A Review of Methane Hydrate Research and Development Projects to Date
Pages 43-72
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From page 43... ...
Methane Hydrate Research and Development (R&D) Program is directed toward understanding the potential of methane hydrate as a natural gas resource, the role of methane hydrate formation and dissociation in global climate dynamics, and safety issues surrounding drilling and production activities in areas where methane hydrate is present.
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From page 44... ...
44 , Review Small Grant Business Innovation Research Peer Laboratory NETL Merit In-House Research Internal/ External Reviews Funded Work In-House Proposal Technologyy . Review atory Energla Funds Interagency Technical Transfer Coordinating Team Inter-Agency Labor Nation, logy Budget cess.
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From page 45... ...
Targeted solicitations were designed for a specific research area, hence awards were issued exclusively for projects that matched the specifications. The original program solicitation issued in 2001 was targeted and included studies addressing gas hydrate research needs in four specific research areas: (1)
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From page 46... ...
This type of solicitation allows DOE to select projects that can fill gaps in the program. The selection criteria for FY 2000 and FY 2002 included technical criteria (scientific and technical merit and technical approach and understanding)
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From page 47... ...
Two major international collaborative efforts to which DOE contributed are reviewed because they are the only large-scale international efforts to study hydrate since the act was passed. They highlight the need for broad-based international and multidisciplinary efforts in planning and executing field experiments that are optimally designed to address complex natural gas hydrate systems.
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From page 48... ...
Leg 204, and some USGS projects, there are very few peer-reviewed publications resulting from the research funded by the DOE Methane Hydrate R&D Program. Where available, publications are cited in the appropriate sections; however, much of the research currently funded by the program has not been published in the scientific or technical literature, limiting the publicly available knowledge on gas hydrate.
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From page 49... ...
A brief overview of these projects illustrates the benefits of international collaboration. Mallik 2002 International Gas Hydrate Production Research Well Program The DOE Methane Hydrate R&D Program participated in this program, a multidisciplinary scientific and engineering program undertaken with a primary goal to "assess the recoverability and potential production characteristics of the onshore natural gas hydrate" (http://www.
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From page 50... ...
The Mallik 2002 program was the theme of an international gas hydrate symposium held in Chiba, Japan, in December 2003, which was attended by more than 250 gas hydrate researchers. More than 70 technical papers were presented at this symposium (proceedings available at http://www.mh21 japan.gr.jp/english/index.html)
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From page 51... ...
Distribution of gas hydrate was also a secondary objective of several other ODP legs, including Leg 141 offshore Chile, Leg 146 offshore Oregon and Vancouver Island, and Leg 201 offshore Peru. The Methane Hydrate Research and Development Act of 2000 supported a variety of activities associated with Legs 201 and 204 of the ODP through contracts to the Joint Oceanographic Institutions (JOI)
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From page 52... ...
It is clear that projects such as the Mallik 2002 Production Research Well Program and the ODP Leg 204 have led to significant qualitative and quantitative improvement in our understanding of gas hydrate processes in nature and their potential value as an energy resource. The DOE Methane Hydrate R&D Program played a key role by contributing direct funding to these projects.
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From page 53... ...
Success has been realized through the multidisciplinary and international nature of the research and through careful attention to scientific overview, as well as checks and balances to ensure that these projects reached their research and development goals. Gas hydrate research is truly a global activity, and the future design of the DOE Methane Hydrate R&D Program will benefit by fostering and encouraging participation in international programs.
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From page 54... ...
BP Exploration (Alaska) Project: Alaska North Slope Gas Hydrate Reservoir Characterization The BPXA project is focused on resource extraction and includes a phased approach.
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From page 55... ...
A well-constrained framework for gas hydrate occurrence has been published previously (Collett, 1983)
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From page 56... ...
Due primarily to a late start to the field program, field work was limited to only 22 days in 2002, and the well was suspended at 427 m, just below the base of permafrost and above the main gas hydrate target. A second field effort that reached the target depth of the Hot Ice No.
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From page 57... ...
or identification of potential problems. ChevronTexaco JIP: Characterizing Natural Gas Hydrates in the Deep Water Gulf of Mexico -- Applications for Safe Exploration There are eight DOE-funded projects in the Gulf of Mexico; of these, the ChevronTexaco JIP is the largest and most prominent.
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From page 58... ...
These workshops have provided community input to develop the goals detailed in the project objectives. Appendix D provides a summary of the DOE Office of Fossil Energy Methane Hydrate R&D Conference on hydrate research and development, and a summary of the Gulf of Mexico Naturally Occurring Gas Hydrates JIP Workshop that followed, written by members of the committee who attended.
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From page 59... ...
The industry-managed targeted research projects provide excellent opportunities to advance gas hydrate science and engineering. These projects should be commended for including researchers from academia and the federal agencies.
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From page 60... ...
First, the USGS has been the primary agency providing evaluations of gas hydrate resources in the Arctic. This work has been supported, in part, by DOE through the support of USGS researchers who served on both Mallik projects and have given advice on geologic aspects of drilling for the two large industry projects in the Arctic that are being supported by the DOE Methane Hydrate R&D Program.
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From page 61... ...
These groups are active in disseminating their results to the hydrate research community in peer-reviewed publications. USGS Project Summary and Findings The USGS has developed an extensive knowledge base on the geological occurrence of gas hydrate and supported several aspects of the DOE Methane Hydrate R&D Program such as: · providing evaluations of gas hydrate resources in the Arctic; · collaborating with the ChevronTexaco JIP in the Gulf of Mexico; and · conducting laboratory experiments on natural and man-made gas hydrate.
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From page 62... ...
The objective of the project is to establish a remote, multisensor monitoring station at a selected location within the hydrate stability zone of the northern Gulf of Mexico. This effort is the largest activity supported by the program that addresses basic research to assess environmental impacts of natural methane emissions from gas hydrate.
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From page 63... ...
; characterization of microbes associated with gas hydrate at INEEL; development of more advanced tools to image hydrate cores, such as X-ray scanner development at LBNL; laboratory efforts to determine physical properties of synthetic and natural hydrate samples at ORNL; and field efforts to acquire geophysical site characterization data at the NRL. Some of these efforts are clearly integrated with overall program objectives, and the results are being widely disseminated to the hydrate research community (e.g., LBNL reservoir modeling results that are being used to plan both Arctic drilling efforts (Box 3.1)
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From page 64... ...
A summary of DOE Methane Hydrate R&D Program sponsored projects should be issued on an annual basis and posted on the program Web site. DOE Methane Hydrate R&D Program Breadth A review of the content of the present program showed that two gas hydrate research areas stipulated in the Methane Hydrate R&D Act (Box ES.1)
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From page 65... ...
65 noNd ) s llar (do anne Pl EOD ,00034 7748, 17 ,32098 ,15916 9573, 10 DOEden ollars)
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From page 66... ...
Hydrate Reservoir Simulator Development Structural Characterization of Natural Gas BNL 75,000 Hydrates Properties of Natural Gas Hydrates NETL-OST 625,000 Kinetics of Natural Gas Hydrates NETL-OST 950,000 Physical Properties, Natural Gas Production, NETL-OST 1,270,000 Environmental, and Safety and Seafloor Stability Aspects of Gas Hydrates SOURCE: Data from DOE, 2004a.
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From page 67... ...
. A second small LBNL project "X-Ray Scanning for Characterization of Gas Hydrate Bearing Cores" ($0.39 million over four years)
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From page 68... ...
One aspect that should be addressed as part of this component is determining background methane levels and some measure of in situ microbial activity. Other pressing, but difficult, questions concern the natural rate of gas hydrate dissociation and the processes whereby methane can pass
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From page 69... ...
Some notable advances have also been made in terms of assessing the importance of gas hydrate as a geohazard. While outlined as an area of possible research in the Methane Hydrate Research and Development Act of 2000, the present program has not addressed issues related to transportation, and has only indirectly addressed issues of education, and has only provided limitedly provided support for research on environmental effects of hydrate decomposition.
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From page 70... ...
and its potential for affecting climate. The DOE Methane Hydrate R&D Program provides a significant incentive and valued role in developing this nation's ability to produce energy from gas hydrate and to understand the potential geological constraints to drilling hydrate.
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From page 71... ...
The USGS should continue to play a major role in gas hydrate research as a collaborator in the DOE Methane Hydrate R&D Program. A summary of DOE Methane Hydrate R&D Program-sponsored projects should be developed on an annual basis and posted on the program Web site.
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