Relative water and gas permeability for gas production from hydrate-bearing sediments

Abstract

Relative water and gas permeability equations are important for estimating gas and water production from hydrate-bearing sediments. However, experimental or numerical study to determine fitting parameters of those equations is not available in the literature. In this study, a pore-network model is developed to simulate gas expansion and calculate relative water and gas permeability. Based on the simulation results, fitting parameters for modified Stone equation are suggested for a distributed hydrate system where initial hydrate saturations range from S-h = 0.1 to 0.6. The suggested fitting parameter for relative water permeability is n(w) approximate to 2.4 regardless of initial hydrate saturation while the suggested fitting parameter for relative gas permeability is increased from n(g) = 1.8 for S-h = 0.1 to n(g) = 3.5 for S-h = 0.6. Results are relevant to other systems that experience gas exsolution such as pockmark formation due to sea level change, CO2 gas formation during geological CO2 sequestration, and gas bubble accumulation near the downstream of dams.