Short-range, overpressure-driven methane migration in coarse-grained gas hydrate reservoirs

Abstract

Two methane migration mechanisms have been proposed for coarse-grained gas hydrate reservoirs: short-range diffusive gas migration and long-range advective fluid transport from depth. Herein, we demonstrate that short-range fluid flow due to overpressure in marine sediments is a significant additional methane transport mechanism that allows hydrate to precipitate in large quantities in thick, coarse-grained hydrate reservoirs. Two-dimensional simulations demonstrate that this migration mechanism, short-range advective transport, can supply significant amounts of dissolved gas and is unencumbered by limitations of the other two end-member mechanisms. Short-range advective migration can increase the amount of methane delivered to sands as compared to the slow process of diffusion, yet it is not necessarily limited by effective porosity reduction as is typical of updip advection from a deep source.