Volume 27: Closing Carbon Cycles – A Transformation Process Involving Technology, Economy, and Society: Part II

Numerical simulation of gas production in different layers in Shenhu area, South China Sea Changwen Xiao, Xiaosen Li, Gang Li, Yang Yu, Jianxing Yu

Abstract

The hydrate reservoir in Shenhu area is a complex, multilayered system and the production strategy of the target layer is the key to long-term efficient exploitation. According to available geological data, we used numerical simulation to analyze three cases of gas production in different layers by using the depressurization method with vertical wells. The production behaviors and evolutions of pressure, temperature, gas, and hydrate saturation were analyzed. The results showed that the depressurization rate was limited by the low permeability. For 10 years of production, the production case in the free-gas layer could obtain the largest cumulative gas production, and hydrate dissociation could obtain stable gas production.

Keywords hydrate, Shenhu area, gas production, different layers, low-permeability