Enhancing hot water flooding in hydrate bearing layers through a novel staged production method. (15th February 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Liu, Yongge; Hou, Jian; Chen, Zhangxin; Bai, Yajie; Su, Haiyang; Zhao, Ermeng; Li, Guangming
• Is Part Of: Energy. Volume 217(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-02-15
• Subjects: Horizontal well -- Hot water flooding -- Natural gas hydrate -- Staged production -- Numerical simulation; Power resources -- Periodicals; Power (Mechanics) -- Periodicals; Energy consumption -- Periodicals; 333.7905
• DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2020.119319
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0360-5442

Abstract

Abstract: A method to improve the performance of hot water flooding in a hydrate bearing layer (HBL) is proposed. The development approach involves a horizontal production well completed by sliding sleeves and one vertical injection well. The horizontal section of the production well is first opened to yield a high production rate. As the gas production reduces to a certain degree, staged production from the toe to the heel is conducted by opening and closing the sliding sleeves. Subsequently, particle swarm optimization is coupled with a simulator to optimize the primary adjustable parameters. Furthermore, the proposed approach is compared with an un-staged approach and Sasaki's approach. The results indicate that the optimal injected water temperature is 51.3 °C considering both energy efficiency and recovery. The optimal distance between the horizontal wellbore and the top of the HBL is approximately 1/3 of the reservoir thickness, and the unperforated interval of the injection well should cover the upper 2/3 of the HBL. Based on the same injected heat, the proposed approach can improve cumulative gas production by 25.6%, 14.4%, and 39.1% compared with the un-staged approach, Sasaki's approaches 1 and 2, respectively. Highlights: A novel staged production method in HBLs is proposed. A coupled model of the PSO and STARS module is built. The primary adjustable parameters are optimized. The effectiveness of the proposed method is proved.