Numerical Simulation of Hydrate Dissociation Behaviors in Hydrate Reservoir with Different Properties during Horizontal Well Drilling

Abstract

The effectiveness of horizontal well drilling in improving the gas recovery efficiency of hydrate production makes it a promising technology for commercial exploitation. However, during horizontal well drilling in hydrate reservoirs, it is crucial to control hydrate dissociation to ensure the reservoir stability and drilling safety. In this work, a two-dimensional model using polar coordinates was built to study the influences of hydrate reservoir characteristics and drilling fluid salinity on gas production. The simulation applies to the hydrate reservoir of the second natural gas hydrate (NGH) production test in the Shenhu area of the South China Sea. The characteristics of hydrate dissociation and secondary formation and the drilling invasion behavior in the NGH layer and the mixing layer (free gas + hydrate) during horizontal well drilling were analyzed and compared. The simulation results indicated that the pressure and temperature transmission rates in the mixing layer (free gas + hydrate) are higher than those in the NGH layer. The invasion amount of drilling fluid in the mixing layer is 18.8 times more than that in the NGH layer. Under the high invasion of the drilling fluid, the hydrate dissociation amount in the mixing layer is similar to that of the NGH layer even though the initial hydrate saturation of the NGH layer was 2.65 times that of the mixing layer. The area of the hydrate dissociation in the mixing layer is much larger than that in the NGH layer, which may lead to the increase in risk of wellbore instability. The secondary hydrate formation is only observed in the NGH layer, which inhibits the drilling fluid invasion. The salinity of the drilling fluid has a more significant impact on the hydrate dissociation near the wellbore in the mixing layer compared to the NGH layer. With the increase in salinity from 3.05 wt% to 20 wt%, the hydrate dissociation range in the mixing layer increases from 0.16 m to 0.23 m, while the hydrate dissociation range in the NGH layer does not significantly change.