RAPID: Gas Hydrate Formation and Inhibition at the Conditions Encountered in the Gulf of Mexico Oil Leak from the Deepwater Horizon Well

1042752sum本项目的重点是获得目前正在考虑的防止深水地平线钻井系统中石油/天然气泄漏形成天然气水合物的策略所需的实验数据，以及其他未来的深水石油开发。知识优势：在油包水乳液+卤水体系存在的情况下，热力学抑制剂（如甲醇和单乙二醇）对水合物形成条件和速率的影响将使用高压差量热计和搅拌高压蒸釜进行测量。这些测量结果将为建立深水油气开发中广泛使用的水合物形成控制策略的有效性提供新的关键信息。CSM水合物中心是水合物流动保证领域的全球领导者，在应用于石油工业的水合物形成实验和建模方面拥有广泛的专业知识。CSM在水合物实验方面的专业知识将加速拟议的项目。第一组实验将测量有和没有抑制剂（甲醇和单乙二醇）的盐水溶液中甲烷水合物的相平衡。这些测量将在高压微差扫描量热计（HiP-DSC）中进行。该仪器可以在深水地平线钻井系统的低温高压条件下测量非常小的样品（约20毫克）的相位变化。对于这些实验，将压力设置为2500-3000 psi，温度从+40°C上升到-40°C以形成水合物，然后从-40°C到+40°C解离水合物，并获得水合物的解离温度和水卤溶液转化为水合物晶体的程度。在不同的抑制剂浓度下，可以测量不同样品的解离温度。更广泛的影响：热力学抑制剂（如甲醇和单乙二醇）对油包水乳状液+盐水体系中水合物形成条件和速率的影响此前尚未被研究过。然而，这些信息对于建立这些广泛使用的水合物形成和修复控制策略的有效性至关重要。

1042752SumThe focus of this proposed project is to obtain experimental data needed in strategies currently contemplated to prevent gas hydrate formation at the oil/gas leaking from the Deepwater Horizon well system, as well as other future deepwater oil developments.Intellectual Merit: The effect of thermodynamic inhibitors being considered, such as methanol and monoethylene glycol on hydrate formation conditions and rates in the presence of water-in-oil emulsion + brine systems will be measured using a high pressure differential calorimeter and a stirred high pressure autoclave cell. These measurements will provide new and critical information to establishing the effectiveness of these widely used control strategies for hydrate formation in deepwater oil developments. The CSM Hydrate Center is a global leader in hydrate flow assurance, with extensive expertise in experiments and modeling of hydrate formation applied to the oil industry. The proposed project will be accelerated by the expertise at CSM in hydrate experiments.The first set of experiments will measure the phase equilibria of methane hydrates from brine solution with and without inhibitor (methanol and monoethylene glycol). These measurements will be performed in a high-pressure micro-differential scanning calorimeter (HiP-DSC). This instrument allows measurements of phase changes for very small samples (about 20 mg) at low temperature and high-pressure conditions as expected in the Deepwater Horizon well systems. For these experiments, the pressure will be set to 2500-3000 psi and the temperature ramped from +40 °C to -40 °C to form hydrates and then from -40°C to +40 °C to dissociate the hydrate and obtain the dissociation temperature of the hydrate and the extent of conversion of the aqueous brine solution to hydrate crystals. The onset of the dissociation temperature can be measured for the different samples at a number of inhibitor concentrations.Broader Impact: The effect of thermodynamic inhibitors, such as methanol and monoethylene glycol on hydrate formation conditions and rates in the presence of water-in-oil emulsion + brine systems have not been investigated previously. Yet, this information is critical to establishing the effectiveness of these widely used control strategies for hydrate formation and remediation.