The Use of Horizontal Wells in Gas Production from Hydrate Accumulations

The amounts of hydrocarbon gases trapped in natural hydrate accumulations are enormous, leading to a recent interest in the evaluation of their potential as an energy source. Earlier studies have demonstrated that large volumes of gas can be readily produced at high rates for long times from gas hydrate accumulations by means of depressurization-induced dissociation, using conventional technology and vertical wells. The results of this numerical study indicate that the use of horizontal wells does not confer any practical advantages to gas production from Class 1 deposits. This is because of the large disparity in permeabilities between the hydrate layer (HL) and the underlying free gas zone, leading to a hydrate dissociation that proceeds in a horizontally dominant direction and is uniform along the length of the reservoir. When horizontal wells are placed near the base of the HL in Class 2 deposits, the delay in the evolution of a significant gas production rate outweighs their advantages, which include higher rates and the prevention of flow obstruction problems that often hamper the performance of vertical wells. Conversely, placement of a horizontal well near to top of the HL can lead to dramatic increases in gas production from Class 2 and Class 3 deposits over the corresponding production from vertical wells.