The objective of this DOE-USGS Interagency Agreement (IA) is to provide world-class expertise and research in support of the goals of the 2005 Energy Act for National Methane Hydrates R&D, the DOE-led U.S. interagency roadmap for gas hydrates research, and elements of the USGS mission related to energy resources, the environment, and geohazards. This project extends USGS support to the DOE Methane Hydrate R&D Program previously conducted under DE-AI26-05NT42496 and DE-FE0002911
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) at Woods Hole, MA, Denver, CO, and Menlo Park, CA, Santa Cruz, CA
The USGS IA involves laboratory research and U.S. and international field studies in which DOE/NETL has a significant interest. Geological and geophysical support for these efforts is critical to their success, and the USGS is uniquely qualified to provide this support. This IA is currently divided into six separate tasks.
The primary objective of several tasks is to evaluate the production potential of the known gas hydrate accumulations on the North Slope of Alaska and in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM). These tasks are designed as a cooperative research effort among the USGS, DOE, other federal agencies, and various industry representatives. The USGS provides technical and scientific leadership and advice for formulation, planning, and implementation of field-based research projects, laboratory analysis of recovered samples, and support for reservoir modeling.
To serve environmental and energy resource goals of the National Methane Hydrates R&D program on the U.S. Atlantic margin, the USGS has since 2014 conducted numerous cruises to assess the source (microbial vs. thermogenic) of methane seeping from the seafloor, the fate of methane once it enters the water column, and the landward limit of gas hydrate beneath the upper continental slope. In collaboration with DOE and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the USGS has completed major seismic exploration program to refine the distribution of gas hydrate deposits which exist offshore from New Jersey to North Carolina. The Atlantic margin studies conducted by the USGS will eventually inform decisions about potential sites for future gas hydrates research drilling. Determining potential sites for a future gas hydrates research drilling program.
To develop a better understanding of hydrate-bearing sediments, the USGS manages a unique laboratory with tools designed to measure the mechanical, hydraulic, electrical, and thermal properties of pressure core samples recovered from U.S. and international drilling programs. The USGS also conducts benchtop mini-production tests with pressure cores to evaluate the amount of gas that can be extracted from a core using depressurization or thermal stimulation. The USGS routinely measures index and geotechnical properties on conventional core material and conducts experiments on sediments containing synthetic hydrate formed using a range of experimental techniques devised by USGS researchers. The USGS also maintains a scanning eletron microscope with cryogenic capabilities, which supports studies on sediments hosting both natural and synthetic gas hydrates.
The USGS supports cooperative projects between the U.S. and international partners, including India, Japan, Korea, and other nations. USGS scientists provide a range of capabilities from assessing resource potential to providing scientific and operational advice about the formulation of field programs, as well as leading laboratory programs during and after major field programs.
The USGS is also studying the links between Late Pleistocene to contemporary climate change and the state of the gas hydrate reservoir on global upper continental slopes and Arctic shelves. Research under this objective enhances understanding of the susceptibility of marine gas hydrates and gas hydrates associated with subsea permafrost to warming ocean waters. Key goals are to determine the rate of upper slope gas hydrate degradation, which includes not only studying the contemporary record and modeling the future, but also constraining the timing of onset of methane emissions on upper slopes.
The technical depth of USGS scientists and engineers brings an additional important dimension to the research activities of the DOE Methane Hydrate R&D Program. In the Arctic, the USGS has been involved for decades in geological and geophysical investigations that are helping scientists understand the full extent of the hydrate resource and the interaction of gas hydrates with the environment. USGS research on marine hydrates is making important advances in our understanding of the occurrence and potential hazard of encountering subsurface gas hydrates during drilling in the northern GoM and providing the baseline information needed to support a future shift to research drilling to meet gas hydrates objectives on the U.S. Atlantic margin . This information will provide industry with better tools and data as oil and gas development moves into areas where gas hydrates could present potential hazards. USGS scientists are leaders in developing and applying new laboratory tools and techniques to better understand reservoir properties of hydrate-bearing sediments recovered in conventional and pressure cores. USGS and DOE scientists and engineers, along with industry, will continue to work together to gain a better understanding of the nature and distribution of marine and permafrost-associated gas hydrates in an effort to develop this valuable resource.
Researchers are currently analyzing seismic data obtained during the MATRIX program, along with multi-channel seismic data collected during research cruises in 2014 and 2015, to choose bottom simulating reflectors, determine the extent of hydrates on the mid-Atlantic margin, and estimate gas inventories. This work updates and refines the preliminary results presented at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) during the week of December 10, 2018.
USGS researchers have completed a large number of studies for the scientific results publication from the NGHP-02 program and expects to participate in planning for the NGHP-03 program in the future.
USGS researchers are continuing analyses to support the collaboration on the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) samples from the Ulleung Basin.
USGS personnel have completed the analysis of 158 headspace gas samples obtained from the Hydrate 01 Stratigraphic Test Well, recently drilled on the Alaska North Slope.
$378,310 for Year 1
$430,517 for Year 2
$401,397 for Year 3
$412,298 for Year 4
$276,243 for Year 5
NETL – Skip Pratt (skip.pratt@netl.doe.gov or 304-285-4396)
USGS – Carolyn Ruppel (cruppel@usgs.gov or 617-806-6768)