Sand Migration and Control in Sediments of Different Particle Sizes During Depressurization-Induced Methane Hydrate Exploitation

International field trials have demonstrated that sand production and control are crucial issues that need to be addressed and resolved to achieve the commercial exploitation of natural gas hydrate (NGH). The objective of this study is to investigate sand migration and control in sediments with different particle size distributions during depressurization-induced hydrate exploitation. A 50PPI (pores per linear inch) polyurethane foam was chosen as the sand control material to further explore its performance under conditions closer to actual field reservoirs, which is the continuation and extension of previous investigations. Experimental results confirm that the 50 PPI polyurethane foam demonstrates good sand control effectiveness for reservoirs with a median particle size (D50) of quartz sands ranging from 10 to 100 μm, even under material extrusion deformation. Under comparable reservoir conditions, finer and more heterogeneous sediments increase sand control requirements. Meanwhile, no definitive correlation between internal sand migration and actual sand production was observed. In reservoirs with fine quartz sand, sand production manifests as consolidated sediment migration after hydrate exploitation, while heterogeneous quartz sand reservoirs undergo significant internal changes before and after the NGH exploitation, accompanied by a evident decrease in gas production rate. Based on the experimental study, a theoretical framework for sand migration and production mechanisms during NGH exploitation is proposed, defining three distinct states. The state of sand migration shifts when local blockages reach a threshold, transitioning from particle migration to block displacement.