Electrical anisotropy due to gas hydrate-filled fractures

Abstract

In 2006, the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 01, or NGHP-01, discovered gas hydrate as fill in near-vertical fractures in unconsolidated sediments at several drilling sites on the Indian continental margins. These gas hydrate-filled fractures were identified on logging-while-drilling resistivity images. The gas hydrate-filled fracture intervals coincide with high measured resistivity at the NGHP-01 sites. High measured resistivity translates into high hydrate saturations via Archie’s equation; however, these high saturations contradict lower gas hydrate saturations determined from pressure core and chlorinity measurements. Also, in intervals with near-vertical gas hydrate-filled fractures, there is considerable separation between phase shift and attenuation resistivity logs, with [Formula: see text] resistivity measurements being significantly higher than [Formula: see text] resistivity measurements. We modeled the sensitivity of the propagation resistivity measurements in the gas hydrate-filled fracture intervals at NGHP-01 Sites 5 and 10. Near-vertical hydrate-filled fractures can cause the abnormally high resistivity measurements in vertical holes due to electrical anisotropy. The model suggests the gas hydrate saturations in situ are usually significantly lower than those calculated from Archie’s equation. In addition, these modeled gas hydrate saturations generally agree with the lower gas hydrate saturations obtained from pressure core and chlorinity measurements at NGHP-01 Sites 5 and 10.