Experimental Study of Brine Injection and Depressurization Methods for Dissociation of Gas Hydrates

Summary The two most promising techniques for producing natural gas from hydrate reservoirs are depressurization and brine injection. This paper examines the dissociation characteristics of methane hydrates during these processes. A correlation for the rate of hydrate dissociation during brine injection as a function of salinity, brine temperature, brine injection rate, pressure, and hydrate/brine surface area is presented. Depressurization experiments show that hydrate dissociation results in a decrease in the rate of pressure decline and contributes significantly (15% to 70%) to the cumulative gas production.