PNG 520
Phase Relations in Reservoir Engineering

The Hydrate Problem


Natural gas hydrates are solid crystalline compounds of snow appearance with densities smaller than that of ice. Natural gas hydrates are formed when natural gas components, for instance methane, ethane, propane, isobutene, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen, occupy empty lattice positions in the water structure. In this case, it seems like water solidifying at temperatures considerably higher than the freezing point of water.

Gas hydrates constitute a solid solution—gas being the solute and water the solvent—where the two main constituents are not chemically bounded. Figure 21.2 presents a typical phase diagram for a mixture of water with a light, pure hydrocarbon (HC), similar to that presented by McCain (1990).

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Figure 21.2: Phase Diagram for a Water/Hydrocarbon (HC) System

There are a number of points on the diagram in Figure 21.2 that are noteworthy. First of all, hydrate formation is clearly favored by low temperature and high pressure. The three-phase critical point is point C on the diagram that represents the condition where the liquid and gas hydrocarbon merge into a single hydrocarbon phase in equilibrium with liquid water. Point Q2 is the upper quadruple point, where four phases (liquid water, liquid hydrocarbon, gaseous hydrocarbon, and solid hydrate) are found in equilibrium. Point Q1, the lower quadruple point, typically occurs at 32 °F (ice freezing point) where four phases (ice, hydrate, liquid water, and hydrocarbon gas) are found in equilibrium. In this context, phases are not pure as they contain some amount of the other substances according to their mutual solubility.

For practical applications, the most important equilibrium line is the Q1Q2 segment. It represents the conditions for hydrate formation or dissociation, a critical piece of information for most industrial applications where hydrates are involved. When we focus on this zone, the phase behavior of water/hydrocarbon system is simplified to the schematics shown in Figure 21.3.

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Figure 21.3: Phase Behavior of Water/Hydrocarbon System (Q1Q2 segment)

Phase Behavior thermodynamics is usually invoked for the prediction of the Q1Q2 hydrate formation/dissociation line. The first two methods of prediction were proposed by Katz and coworkers, and are known as the Gas Gravity Method (Katz, 1945) and the Ki-value Method (Carson and Katz, 1942). Both methods allow calculating the P-T equilibrium curves for three phases: liquid water, hydrate and natural gas. These methods yield initial estimates for the calculation and provide qualitative understanding of the equilibrium; the latter method being the more accurate of the two. The third method relies on Statistical Mechanics for the prediction of equilibrium. It is recognized as the most accurate of all three-phase calculations as it is more comprehensive and detailed.

The key circumstances that are essential for hydrate formation can be summarized as:

  1. Presence of “free” water. No hydrate formation is possible if “free” water is not present. Here, we understand the importance of removal of water vapor from natural gas, so that in case of free water occurrence there is likelihood of hydrate formation.
  2. Low temperatures, at or below the hydrate formation temperature for a given pressure and gas composition.
  3. High operating pressures.
  4. High velocities, or agitation, or pressure pulsations, in other words turbulence can serve as catalyst.
  5. Presence of H2S and CO2 promotes hydrate formation because both these acid gases are more soluble in water than the hydrocarbons.

The best and permanent remedy for the hydrate formation problems is the dehydration of the gas. Sometimes, it is quite possible that hydrates will form at the well site or in the pipeline carrying natural gas to the dehydration unit, so that the need for well head techniques arises. At well site, two techniques are appropriate:

  1. Heating the gas stream and maintaining flow lines and equipment at temperature above the hydrate point,
  2. In cases where liquid water is present and the flowlines and equipment cannot be maintained above hydrate temperature, inhibiting hydrate formation by injecting additives that depress both hydrate and freezing temperatures.

The most common additives are methanol, ethylene glycol, and diethylene glycol. Methanol injection is very beneficial in cases where a low gas volume does not permit the dehydration processing. It is also extremely useful in cases where hydrate problems are relatively mild, infrequent, or periodic, in cases where inhibitor injection is only a temporary phase in the field development program, or where inhibition is done in conjunction with a primary dehydration system.