The Study of Flow Characteristics During the Decomposition Process in Hydrate-Bearing Porous Media Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Abstract

The flow characteristics during decomposition of hydrate-bearing sediments are the most critical parameters for the gas recovery potential from natural gas hydrate reservoirs. The absolute and relative permeability and the flow field distribution during the decomposition process of hydrate-bearing porous media synthetically created by glass beads are in-situ measured by using magnetic resonance imaging. The absolute permeability value increased slowly, then became stable after the decomposition amount was 50%. The relative permeability change curve is a typical X-shaped cross curve. As the hydrate decomposed, the relative permeability values of the two phases increased, the range of the two-phase co-infiltration zone increased with the increase of relative permeability at the endpoint, and the coexistence water saturation decreased. At the beginning of the decomposition, (hydrate content 100% to 70%), the relative permeability of methane and water rose rapidly from 22% to 51% and from 58% to 70%, respectively. When the amount of the remaining hydrate was less than 50%, the relative permeability curve of the hydrate-bearing glass beads almost kept unchanged. During the hydrate decomposition process, the velocity distribution was very uneven and coincided with the porous media structure.

Keywords

• hydrate
• flow characteristics
• absolute permeability
• relative permeability
• flow field distribution
• decomposition
• hydrate-bearing sediments