Permeability testing system for gas hydrate-sediment mixtures

天然气水合物是由水和天然气以非常紧凑的形式组成的固体结晶化合物。天然气水合物含有足够的甲烷气体，有可能使世界能源储量翻一番；在加拿大，我们的天然气水合物资源估计是我们剩余常规储量的50倍。虽然甲烷水合物可以满足我们日益增长的能源需求，但这些储气库还可以通过储存二氧化碳气体来缓解全球气候变化。它将二氧化碳作为笼状水合物进行封存，同时将就地的甲烷水合物转化为天然气。在帮助天然气水合物开发的同时，减少向大气中的碳排放具有双重优势。了解天然气水合物-沉积物混合物的渗透率是评估甲烷天然气水合物储集层生产潜力的一个重要因素。天然气产量强烈地受到流体和气体流经储集层沉积物的能力的影响。此外，甲烷水合物转化为二氧化碳水合物的过程受到这两种气体之间的接触的限制，因此高度依赖于地层渗透率。我们目前对这些独特系统中的渗透率的了解非常有限。对于相同的水合物饱和度，模型和测量结果显示预测的渗透率变化了七个数量级。将进行基础实验来研究和评估含有天然气水合物的沉积物的渗透率。专业的岩土天然气水合物研究实验室将配备新的仪器，可以直接和间接测量渗透率。实验结果将用于校准水合物储集层模拟器，最终实现在有和没有同时碳封存的情况下从天然水合物储集层生产甲烷气。

Gas hydrates are solid crystalline compounds composed of water and gas in a very compact form.  Natural gas hydrates contain enough methane gas to potentially double the world's energy reserves; in Canada our gas hydrate resource has been estimated to be fifty times our remaining conventional reserves.  While methane hydrates could meet our growing demand for energy, these reservoirs could also mitigate global climate change by storing carbon dioxide gas.  Sequestration of carbon dioxide as clathrate hydrate, with simultaneous conversion of the in situ methane hydrates into natural gas, offers a double advantage of reducing carbon emissions to the atmosphere while assisting is gas hydrate exploitation.Understanding the permeability of gas hydrate-sediment mixtures is an important factor in assessing the production potential of methane gas hydrate reservoirs.  Gas production rates are strongly influenced by the ability of fluids and gases to flow through the reservoir sediments.  In addition, the conversion of methane hydrate to carbon dioxide hydrate is limited by the contact between the two gases, and thus highly dependent on the formation permeability.  Our current understanding of permeability within these unique systems is very limited, with a models and measurements showing a variation of seven orders of magnitude in the predicted permeability for the same hydrate saturation.Fundamental experiments will be carried out to study and assess the permeability of sediments containing gas hydrates.  The specialized Geotechnical Gas Hydrates Research Laboratory will be equipped with new apparatus which will enable direct and indirect permeability measurements.  The experimental results will be used to calibrate hydrate reservoir simulators and ultimately work towards the realization of production of methane gas from natural hydrate reservoirs, with and without simultaneous carbon sequestration.