Measuring Gas Hydrate – CO2 Exchange in Bentheim Sandstone Using MRI Tomography and IDL-programming

Ersland1, J. Husebø1, A. Graue1, B. A. Baldwin2, J. Howard3 and J. Stevens3

1University of Bergen, Norway, Email: geir.ersland@ift.uib.no

2Green Country Petrophysics LLC, OK., USA

3ConocoPhillips, OK., USA

ABSTRACT

Formation of methane hydrate in Bentheim sandstone was monitored in-situ with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Sequestration of CO2 in hydrate accumulations was achieved by exposing the hydrate to liquid CO2. The spontaneous exchange of methane with CO2 within the hydrate structure was monitored by MRI. The process of CO2-CH4 exchange in hydrates without the addition of heat or melting hydrate has the potential as a viable strategy for thermodynamically stable long term CO2- sequestration, with the added benefit of associated natural gas production. The MRI proved to give excellent information about the spatial distribution of the hydrate growth, the rate of the hydrate formation and the nature of the CO2-CH4 exchange. A standardized and reliable data analysis software package was developed to handle the huge amount of MRI-generated data.

Keywords MRI Tomography, Gas Hydrate, CO2 Sequestration, IDL programming