Methane Hydrate Upstream Cost Modelling using Single Well Analysis for NEA Region
Methane hydrates are present in substantial quantities in North East Asia and have the potential to disrupt global energy markets once economical extraction methods are identified and developed.  Any NEA country that is able to exploit its methane hydrate resources will potentially alter its need for hydrocarbon imports. This would greatly impact future energy trade relations between NEA and Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries participants and could result in a shift from a broader bilateral energy trade relationship into a narrow one. Demand would decrease and hydrocarbon price fluctuations would affect revenue streams as well as international trade partnerships. In this study, we attempt to present an optimized operational research cost model suing single well analysis for methane hydrate integration into the energy mix in the North East Asian countries. Our model takes into account key parameters including the volume of estimated reserves, the state of current technology & future developments for exploration and production, infrastructure & investment availability, resource allocation, private/public collaborative partnership and costing/pricing in a reservoir dynamics-based analysis under market constraints. Finally, we propose policy recommendation based on our analysis.