BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Technical Field
[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of exploration and exploitation of submarine
natural gas hydrate resources, in particular to a coverage-type deep-sea mud volcano-associated
natural gas hydrate exploitation system and method.
Description of Related Art
[0002] Natural gas hydrates (also referred to as "combustible ice") are ice-like crystalline
compounds formed by hydrocarbon gases such as methane and water in a high-pressure
environment. Natural gas hydrates in the sea include deep diffused natural gas hydrates
and superficial leaky natural gas hydrates according to the gas migration and accumulation
manner, the burial depth and the genetic model. Wherein, the superficial leaky hydrates
are closely associated with many special geologic bodies such as mud diaper, mud volcanoes
and gas chimneys.
[0003] Superficial hydrates associated with mud volcanoes are well developed in many sea
areas, and these mud volcanoes with a diameter of several meters to hundreds of meters
protrude over the seabed by several meters to tens of meters and are rich of huge
high-saturability hydrates. According to investigation, the reservoir of methane in
a single mud volcano in Nankai Trough reaches one billion cubic meters, and tens to
hundreds of such mud volcanoes are usually developed in groups. For example, 1742
superficial hydrate geologic bodies have been found in Japan sea, and most of these
superficial hydrate geologic bodies are associated with mud volcanoes. Mud volcano-associated
superficial hydrates are expected to play the same important role as the deep diffused
hydrates in hydrate industrialization because of their extensive distribution on the
seabed, small burial depth and thick and laminar occurrence manner, and have immeasurable
resource significance.
[0004] At present, many superficial hydrate exploitation methods have been put forward,
such as the well-known solid fluidization method and the robot mining method. However,
no corresponding method is available yet for superficial hydrates associated with
mud volcanoes. Meanwhile, although the solid fluidization method is simple and practicable,
large-area excavation needs to be carried out on the seabed, which may result in eco-catastrophes
and environmental disasters in a wide region, so the risk is uncontrollable. The robot
mining method may also result in environmental risks due to seabed excavation in spite
of its novel idea, and because of the high technical difficulties and other difficulties
of robot mining, it has not yet been implemented up to now in the seabed mining field
including exploration of submarine manganese nodule crusts and metal sulfide, which
indicates that the seabed robot is still a conceptual design for current mining and
remains far off being put into industrial production.
[0005] Considering the special structures of the deep-sea mud volcano-associated natural
gas hydrates such as shallow occurrence positions and even exposure to the surface
of the seabed, centralized occurrence scopes, moundy tops protruding out of the surface
of the seabed, and gas channels developed at the center, there is an urgent need for
a targeted exploitation technique.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The invention provides a coverage-type deep-sea mud volcano-associated natural gas
hydrate exploitation system and method, which are mainly applied to submarine mud
volcano-associated superficial massive hydrates and adopt a coverage-type heat-insulation
heating method to exploit the hydrates according to the occurrence characteristics
of the deep-sea mud volcano-associated hydrates.
[0007] The invention is realized through the following technical solution:
A coverage-type deep-sea mud volcano-associated natural gas hydrate exploitation system
comprises an engineering ship support unit, a power supply unit, a drilling and casing
unit and a gas isolation and heat insulation unit, wherein the engineering ship support
unit provides basic hardware support for hydrate exploitation and realizes a collection
of natural gas hydrates, and the power supply unit is connected to the gas isolation
and heat insulation unit through a power supply cable;
The gas isolation and heat insulation unit is regularly laid on a mud volcano , covers
the mud volcano and comprises a gas isolation and heat insulation cover connected
to the power supply unit, wherein the gas isolation and heat insulation cover sequentially
comprises, from bottom to top, a heat-conducting aluminum foil layer, a carbon fiber
heating wire layer, an asbestos heat insulation layer and a heat-proof gas isolation
layer and supplies heat into a sediment layer to heat a natural gas hydrate reservoir.
[0008] Furthermore, the gas isolation and heat insulation unit further comprises thermal
electrodes which are disposed at positions with a high hydrate saturability and a
large thickness, the thermal electrodes and the carbon fiber heating wire layer of
the gas isolation and heat insulation cover adopt two independent power supply circuits,
and the power supply circuit of the thermal electrodes is separately buried between
the asbestos heat insulation layer and the heat-proof gas isolation layer.
[0009] Furthermore, a safe unhooking system is disposed at a joint of an exploitation mother
ship and the natural gas transport pipe to handle a sudden severe weather or other
disastrous events to avoid risks and guarantee operation safety.
[0010] Furthermore, the power supply unit comprises a solar heating panel, a photoelectric
converter and a storage battery which are disposed on the engineering ship support
unit, and solar energy or electricity in the storage battery is transmitted into the
gas isolation and heat insulation cover and the thermal electrodes through the power
supply unit to heat the hydrates.
[0011] Furthermore, the engineering ship support unit comprises the exploitation mother
ship, a hoisting mechanism and a natural gas storage device, a flow control valve
is disposed on the natural gas storage device, a temperature-pressure sensor is disposed
on the power supply cable, and the operating state of the system is determined and
controlled according to system information collected by the temperature-pressure sensor
and the flow control valve, so that safe and efficient operation of the system is
guaranteed.
[0012] The invention further provides an exploitation method based on the coverage-type
deep-sea mud volcano-associated natural gas hydrate exploitation system, comprising
the following steps:
First, determining a central conduit of the mud volcano, drilling a well in the central
conduit of the mud volcano, and disposing a casing pipe and perforated holes in the
central conduit of the mud volcano;
Second, disposing the gas isolation and heat insulation unit on a flank of the mud
volcano, wherein the gas isolation and heat insulation unit comprises the gas isolation
and heat insulation cover and thermal electrodes, and the gas isolation and heat insulation
cover sequentially comprises, from bottom to top, a heat-conducting aluminum foil
layer, the carbon fiber heating wire layer, the asbestos heat insulation layer and
the heat-proof gas isolation layer;
Third, heating hydrates by means of the ship-borne power supply unit; and
Fourth, collecting gas in the production well, and storing the collected gas on an
engineering ship.
[0013] Furthermore, in the first step, the position of the central conduit of the mud volcano
is targeted according to the position of a cold spring vent determined by a two-dimensional
multi-channel seismic section explanation result and a submarine image.
[0014] Furthermore, the first step is implemented specifically through the following sub-steps:
Drilling the well in the central conduit of the mud volcano through a deepwater drilling
technique, wherein the drilled well penetrates through a sediment covering layer above
natural gas, stretches into a hydrate reservoir and ends at bed rock of the mud volcano,
so that the production well is formed; and
Mounting the casing pipe, forming the perforated holes in the hydrate reservoir to
guide water and gas generated by decomposing the hydrates, and disposing the depressurization
control valve in the production well to combine heat production and depressurization
to decompose the hydrates more sufficiently.
[0015] Furthermore, the second step is implemented specifically through the following steps:
Drilling holes at position, with a high hydrate saturability and a large thickness,
of the flank of the mud volcano, and placing the thermal electrodes in the holes;
then, regularly placing the gas isolation and heat insulation cover on the mud volcano
by means of an engineering underwater robot, and connecting the gas isolation and
heat insulation cover to the thermal electrodes placed in the drilled holes, wherein
an opening is formed in a position, corresponding to a central hole of the mud volcano,
of the gas isolation and heat insulation cover.
[0016] Furthermore, in the fourth step, after gas released by the hydrates flows into the
production well via the perforated holes, the gas is delivered into a natural gas
storage device on an exploitation mother ship through the natural gas transport pipe,
and a safe unhooking system is disposed at a joint of the natural gas transport pipe
and the exploitation mother ship to handle a sudden severe weather or other disastrous
events.
[0017] Compared with the prior art, the invention has the following advantages and beneficial
effects:
- 1) The gas isolation and heat insulation cover can be laid freely according to the
shape of the mud volcano, has a good gas leakage prevention capacity to prevent gas
generated by decomposing the hydrates from leaking from the flank, and can realize
uniform heating; heat-insulation treatment is carried out between the gas isolation
layer and the heating layer with asbestos materials, so that the heating layer only
supplies heat to the hydrates below to minimize energy consumption;
- 2) Moreover, multiple thermal electrodes are disposed at the position with a high
hydrate saturability and a large thickness and are effectively connected to heating
elements of the gas isolation and heat insulation cover, and each thermal electrode
can penetrate to a required depth according to the actual depth of the hydrates to
further heat the hydrates in a target region, so that the decomposed hydrates can
flow into the production well via the perforated holes of the production well under
the effect of a pressure difference at the bottom of the well.
[0018] By adoption of this solution, the defects of small heating range, high energy consumption
and low output rate of a heating-type hydrate exploitation method are overcome, and
the exploitation efficiency can be greatly improved; moreover, possible environmental
risks and eco-catastrophes caused by large-area excavation on the seabed of existing
methods are avoided; large-scale efficient and economical exploitation of the hydrates
can be realized, the application prospect is broad, and the application value is high.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a coverage-type deep-sea mud volcano-associated natural
gas hydrate exploitation system in an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of a gas isolation and heat insulation cover in an
embodiment of the invention;
Wherein: 1, exploitation mother ship; 2, hoisting mechanism; 3, natural gas storage
device; 4, flow control valve; 5, solar heating panel; 6, photoelectric converter;
7, storage battery; 8, safe unhooking system; 9, temperature-pressure sensor; 10,
power supply cable; 11, production well; 12, perforated hole; 13, depressurization
control valve; 14, natural gas transport pipe; 15, gas isolation and heat insulation
cover; 16, thermal electrode; 17, hydrate reservoir; 18, sediment layer; 151, heat-conducting
aluminum foil layer; 152, carbon fiber heating wire layer; 153, asbestos heat insulation
layer; 154, heat-proof gas isolation layer.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0020] To gain a clearer understanding of the above purposes, features and advantages of
the invention, the invention will be further explained below in conjunction with the
drawings and embodiments. Many specific details are expounded in the following description
for a comprehensive appreciation of the invention. But the invention can also be implemented
in other ways different from those mentioned herein. Therefore, the invention is not
limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.
[0021] The invention provides a coverage-type deep-sea mud volcano-associated natural gas
hydrate exploitation system and method, which are mainly applied to submarine mud
volcano-associated superficial massive hydrates and exploit natural gas hydrates through
a heating method based on a specially-designed gas isolation and heat insulation cover
and thermal electrodes. Decomposed hydrates flow into a production well via perforated
holes of the production well under the effect of a pressure difference at the bottom
of the well, and a depressurization device is disposed in the production well to further
decompose the hydrates to complete thermal production of the volcano-associated hydrates;
moreover, to reduce energy consumption and improve economical efficiency, solar power
generation is used to heat the thermal electrodes, and a ship-borne autonomous power
supply device is used in rainy days or at night when the solar energy conversion efficiency
is insufficient, so that stable and continuous production is guaranteed.
Embodiment 1
[0022] This embodiment provides a coverage-type exploitation system for thermal production
of submarine deep-sea mud volcano-associated natural gas hydrates. When it is determined
in the resource exploration stage that a hydrate reservoir 17 in a submarine mud volcano
is located below a sediment layer 18, this system and relevant techniques can be used
to exploit hydrates to obtain natural gas. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1:
The exploitation system comprises an engineering ship support unit, a power supply
unit, a drilling and casing unit and a gas isolation and heat insulation unit, wherein
the engineering ship support unit comprises an exploitation mother ship 1, a hoisting
mechanism 2, a natural gas storage device 3 and a safe unhooking system 8, a flow
control valve 4 is disposed on the natural gas storage device 3, and the safe unhooking
system is able to immediately separate the exploitation mother ship from other underwater
systems in case of a sudden severe weather or other disastrous events to allow the
exploitation mother ship to leave a working site to avoid risks and allow other systems
to stay on a seabed; after the weather returns to normal or the disastrous events
are eliminated, the exploitation mother ship can return to the site and continue to
work after being connected to the underwater systems through an unhooking device.
[0023] The power supply unit comprises a solar heating panel 5, a photoelectric converter
6 and a storage battery 7 which are disposed on the engineering ship support unit,
the power supply unit is connected to the gas isolation and heat insulation unit through
a power supply cable 10, a temperature-pressure sensor 9 is disposed on the power
supply cable 10, solar energy or electricity in the storage battery is transmitted
into the gas isolation and heat insulation cover and thermal electrodes through the
power supply unit to heat the hydrates, and system information is automatically collected
by the temperature-pressure sensor 9 and the flow control valve 4 to determine the
operating state of the system and to control the operation of a valve in time to guarantee
safe and efficient operation of the system;
The drilling and casing unit comprises a production well 11, perforated holes 12 and
a natural gas transport pipe 14, wherein the perforated holes 12 are formed in a hydrate
enrichment layer in the production well 11 to better guide the hydrates to release
fluid, and a depressurization control valve 13 is disposed at an appropriate position
of the natural gas transport pipe 14 to combine pressurization and thermal production
to guarantee smooth output of the natural gas hydrates. A well is preferably drilled
in a central conduit of the mud volcano, which is an important passage for material
exchange between mud volcano fluid and the outside and has a good lateral circulation
condition; after the hydrates are heated to be decomposed, gas will migrate into the
central conduit to be collected; and specifically, the position of the central conduit
of the mud volcano can be targeted according to the position of a cold spring vent
determined by a two-dimensional multi-channel seismic section explanation result and
a submarine image.
[0024] The gas isolation and heat insulation unit can only supply heat into the sediment
layer, including the gas isolation and heat insulation cover 15 and the thermal electrodes
16; the gas isolation and heat insulation cover 15 is a special heating body and sequentially
comprises, from bottom to top, a heat-conducting aluminum foil layer 151, a carbon
fiber heating wire layer 152, an asbestos heat insulation layer 153 and a heat-proof
gas isolation layer 154. The heat-conducting aluminum foil layer 151 has a flame-retarding
and heat-conducting function, thus facilitating heat transfer to the sediment layer
below; the carbon fiber heating wire 152 is made of carbon fiber materials and is
disposed in the gas isolation and heat insulation cover in an S shape, a hollow square
shape or a wavy shape; the asbestos heat insulation layer 153 is subjected to heat-insulation
treatment with asbestos materials to supply heat only into the sediment layer to efficiently
and uniformly heat the natural gas hydrate reservoir; a heat-proof plastic film (made
of polysulfone plastic and capable of being used under 100-180°C for a long time)
is laid on the surface of the heat-insulating asbestos layer to serve as the heat-proof
gas isolation layer 154 to endow the device with a gas leakage prevention function,
so that gas generated by decomposing the hydrates will not leak to the ocean or the
atmosphere via a covering layer; moreover, the four layers have food flexibility and
can be bent freely according to the shape of the mud volcano without compromising
the using effect.
[0025] In addition, to avoid contradictions that may be caused by different heating powers,
the thermal electrodes 16 and carbon fiber heating wires of the gas isolation and
heat insulation cover 15 adopt independent power supply circuits; during construction,
the circuit of the thermal electrodes is separately buried between the heat insulation
layer and the gas isolation layer of the gas isolation and heat insulation cover 15,
so that an opening does not need to be additionally formed in the gas isolation and
heat insulation cover 15 anymore, the construction difficulty will not be increased,
and the risk of gas leakage is avoided; during exploitation, power is supplied to
the thermal electrodes separately, and the heating efficiency is controlled through
a temperature control switch to satisfy the heating requirements of hydrates with
different thicknesses.
[0026] According to this embodiment, a coverage-type heat-insulation heating method is adopted
according to the occurrence characteristics of deep-sea mud volcano hydrates; the
gas isolation and heat insulation cover can be laid freely according to the shape
of the mud volcano, has a good gas leakage prevention capacity to prevent gas generated
by decomposing the hydrates n from leaking from the flank, and can realize uniform
heating; heat-insulation treatment is carried out between the gas isolation layer
and the heating layer with asbestos materials, so that the heating layer only supplies
heat to the hydrates below to minimize energy consumption; moreover, multiple thermal
electrodes are disposed at the position with a high hydrate saturability and a large
thickness and are effectively connected to heating elements of the gas isolation and
heat insulation cover, and each thermal electrode can penetrate to a required depth
according to the actual depth of the hydrates to further heat the hydrates in a target
region, so that the decomposed hydrates can flow into the production well via the
perforated holes of the production well under the effect of a pressure difference
at the bottom of the well.
Embodiment 2
[0027] This embodiment provides a corresponding exploitation method based on the coverage-type
deep-sea mud volcano-associated natural gas hydrate exploitation system disclosed
in Embodiment 1. The exploitation method specifically comprises the following steps:
First, the central conduit of the mud volcano is determined, a well is drilled in
the central conduit of the mud volcano, and a casing pipe and the perforated holes
are disposed in the central conduit of the mud volcano;
The exploitation mother ship 1 is sailed to the hydrate region of the mud volcano,
the well is drilled in the conduit of the mud volcano-associated hydrates through
a deepwater drilling technique, and the well penetrates through a sediment covering
layer 18 above natural gas, stretches into a hydrate reservoir 17 and finally ends
at bed rock of the mud volcano, so that the production well 11 is formed; then the
casing pipe is mounted, the perforated holes 12 are drilled in the hydrate reservoir
to guide water and gas generated by decomposing the hydrates, and the depressurization
control valve 13 is disposed in the production well, so that thermal production and
decompression are combined to decompose the hydrates more sufficiently.
[0028] Second, the gas isolation and heat insulation cover is disposed on the flank of the
mud volcano by means of an engineering robot;
Holes are drilled in positions, with a high hydrate saturability and a large thickness,
of the flank of the mud volcano, and the thermal electrodes 16 are placed into the
holes. Then, the gas isolation and heat insulation cover 15 is regularly disposed
on the mud volcano by means of the engineering underwater robot and is connected to
the thermal electrodes 16 placed into the holes. An opening is formed in the position,
corresponding to a central hole of the mud volcano, of the gas isolation and heat
insulation cover 15. In this way, construction of the gas isolation and heat insulation
unit is completed.
[0029] Third, the hydrates are heated by the ship-borne power supply unit (the solar panel
and the standby storage battery);
Solar energy collected by the solar heating panel 5 of the exploitation mother ship
1 is converted into electric energy by the photoelectric converter 6, and the electric
energy is transmitted to the volcano gas isolation and heat insulation cover 15 on
the seabed. The gas isolation and heat insulation 15 and the integrated thermal electrodes
16 supply power to heat the natural gas hydrates. In rainy days or at night when the
power of electric energy generated by the whole solar system cannot meet exploitation
requirements, the ship-borne storage battery 7 is started to supply power to guarantee
that the whole production process is stable and continuous.
[0030] Fourth, gas in the production well is collected and is stored on the ship;
After gas released by the hydrates flows into the production well 11 via the perforated
holes 12, the gas can be delivered into the natural gas storage device 3 on the exploitation
mother ship through the natural gas transport pipe 14 so as to be stored. The depressurization
control valve 13 is disposed on the natural gas transport pipe, so that the risk of
instrument damage caused by an excessively high pressure in the gas accumulation process
is prevented; the pressure can be decreased properly to combine thermal production
and depressurization to prompt the hydrate exploitation efficiency to be improved.
[0031] It should be noted that in the whole exploitation process, the full-course operation
is safety monitored by means of automatic control and feedback of the entire system.
For example, system information is automatically collected by the temperature-pressure
sensor 9 and the flow control valve 4 to determine the operating state of the system
and to control the operation of the valve in time to switch the operating mode, so
that the working requirements under different conditions are met, and safe and efficient
operation of the system is guaranteed.
[0032] According to the invention, a coverage-type heat-insulation heating method is adopted
according to the occurrence characteristics of deep-sea mud volcano hydrates, so that
the defects of small heating range, high energy consumption and low output rate of
a heating-type hydrate exploitation method are overcome, and the exploitation efficiency
can be greatly improved; moreover, possible environmental risks and eco-catastrophes
caused by large-area excavation on the seabed of existing methods are avoided; in
addition, solar energy is used on the site, so that the cost is low, environmental
friendliness is realized, and in use, the system is driven by standby electricity
stored on the ship at night and in rainy days by controlling the pressure condition
of the gas well. By adoption of these measures, large-scale efficient and economical
exploitation of the hydrates can be realized, and the application prospect is broad.
[0033] The aforesaid embodiments are merely preferred ones of the invention and are not
intended to limit the invention in any forms. Any skilled in the art can make alterations
or transformations according to the technical contents disclosed above to obtain equivalent
embodiments applied to other fields. Any simple modifications and equivalent alternations
and transformations of the above embodiments obtained based on the technical principle
of the invention without departing from the contents of the technical solution of
the invention still fall within the protection scope of the technical solution of
the invention.
1. A coverage-type deep-sea mud volcano-associated natural gas hydrate exploitation system,
comprising an engineering ship support unit, a power supply unit, a drilling and casing
unit and a gas isolation and heat insulation unit, wherein the engineering ship support
unit provides basic hardware support for hydrate exploitation and realizes a collection
of natural gas hydrates, and the power supply unit is connected to the gas isolation
and heat insulation unit through a power supply cable (10);
the drilling and casing unit comprises a production well (11), perforated holes (12)
and a natural gas transport pipe (14), wherein the perforated holes (12) are formed
in a hydrate enrichment layer in the production well (11), the natural gas transport
pipe (14) has an end disposed in the production well (11) and an end connected to
the engineering ship support unit, and a depressurization control valve (13) is disposed
on the natural gas transport pipe (14);
the gas isolation and heat insulation unit is regularly laid on a mud volcano, covers
the mud volcano and comprises a gas isolation and heat insulation cover (15) connected
to the power supply unit, wherein the gas isolation and heat insulation cover (15)
sequentially comprises, from bottom to top, a heat-conducting aluminum foil layer
(151), a carbon fiber heating wire layer (152), an asbestos heat insulation layer
(153) and a heat-proof gas isolation layer (154) and supplies heat into a sediment
layer to heat a natural gas hydrate reservoir;
the gas isolation and heat insulation unit further comprises thermal electrodes (16)
which are disposed at positions with a high hydrate saturability and a large thickness,
the thermal electrodes (16) and the carbon fiber heating wire layer (152) adopt two
independent power supply circuits, and the power supply circuit of the thermal electrodes
(16) is separately buried between the asbestos heat insulation layer (153) and the
heat-proof gas isolation layer (154).
2. The coverage-type deep-sea mud volcano-associated natural gas hydrate exploitation
system according to Claim 1, wherein a safe unhooking system (8) is disposed at a
joint of an exploitation mother ship (1) and the natural gas transport pipe (14) to
handle a sudden severe weather or other disastrous events.
3. The coverage-type deep-sea mud volcano-associated natural gas hydrate exploitation
system according to Claim 1, wherein the power supply unit comprises a solar heating
panel (5), a photoelectric converter (6) and a storage battery (7) which are disposed
on the engineering ship support unit, and solar energy or electricity in the storage
battery is transmitted into the gas isolation and heat insulation cover (15) and the
thermal electrodes (16) through the power supply unit to heat the hydrates.
4. The coverage-type deep-sea mud volcano-associated natural gas hydrate exploitation
system according to Claim 2, wherein the engineering ship support unit comprises the
exploitation mother ship (1), a hoisting mechanism (2) and a natural gas storage device
(3), a flow control valve (4) is disposed on the natural gas storage device (3), a
temperature-pressure sensor (9) is disposed on the power supply cable (10), and an
operating state of the system is determined and controlled according to system information
collected by the temperature-pressure sensor (9) and the flow control valve (4).
5. An exploitation method based on the coverage-type deep-sea mud volcano-associated
natural gas hydrate exploitation system according to Claim 1, comprising the following
steps:
1) determining a central conduit of the mud volcano, drilling a well in the central
conduit of the mud volcano, and disposing a casing pipe and the perforated holes in
the central conduit of the mud volcano;
2) disposing the gas isolation and heat insulation unit on a flank of the mud volcano,
wherein the gas isolation and heat insulation unit comprises the gas isolation and
heat insulation cover (15) and the thermal electrodes (16), and the gas isolation
and heat insulation cover (15) sequentially comprises, from bottom to top, the heat-conducting
aluminum foil layer (151), the carbon fiber heating wire layer (152), the asbestos
heat insulation layer(153) and the heat-proof gas isolation layer (154);
3) heating the hydrates by means of the ship-borne power supply unit; and
4) collecting gas in the production well, and storing the collected gas on an engineering
ship.
6. The exploitation method based on the coverage-type deep-sea mud volcano-associated
natural gas hydrate exploitation system according to Claim 5, wherein in Step 1),
the position of the central conduit of the mud volcano is targeted according to the
position of a cold spring vent determined by a two-dimensional multi-channel seismic
section explanation result and a submarine image.
7. The exploitation method based on the coverage-type deep-sea mud volcano-associated
natural gas hydrate exploitation system according to Claim 5, wherein Step 1) is implemented
specifically through the following sub-steps:
drilling the well in the central conduit of the mud volcano through a deepwater drilling
technique, wherein the drilled well penetrates through a sediment covering layer (18)
above natural gas, stretches into a hydrate reservoir (17) and ends at bed rock of
the mud volcano, so that the production well (11) is formed; and
mounting the casing pipe, forming the perforated holes (12) in the hydrate reservoir
to guide water and gas generated by decomposing the hydrates, and disposing the depressurization
control valve (13) in the production well (11) to combine heat production and depressurization
to decompose the hydrates more sufficiently.
8. The exploitation method based on the coverage-type deep-sea mud volcano-associated
natural gas hydrate exploitation system according to Claim 5, wherein Step 2) is implemented
specifically through the following sub-steps:
drilling holes at position, with a high hydrate saturability and a large thickness,
of the flank of the mud volcano, and placing the thermal electrodes (16) in the holes;
then, regularly placing the gas isolation and heat insulation cover (15) on the mud
volcano by means of an engineering underwater robot, and connecting the gas isolation
and heat insulation cover (15) to the thermal electrodes (16) placed in the drilled
holes, wherein an opening is formed in a position, corresponding to a central hole
of the mud volcano, of the gas isolation and heat insulation cover (15).
9. The exploitation method based on the coverage-type deep-sea mud volcano-associated
natural gas hydrate exploitation system according to Claim 5, wherein in Step 4),
after gas released by the hydrates flows into the production well (11) via the perforated
holes (12), the gas is delivered into a natural gas storage device (3) on an exploitation
mother ship through the natural gas transport pipe (14), and a safe unhooking system
(8) is disposed at a joint of the natural gas transport pipe (14) and the exploitation
mother ship to handle a sudden severe weather or other disastrous events.
Amended claims in accordance with Rule 137(2) EPC.
1. A coverage-type deep-sea mud volcano-associated natural gas hydrate exploitation system,
comprising an engineering ship support unit, a power supply unit, a drilling and casing
unit and a gas isolation and heat insulation unit, wherein the engineering ship support
unit provides basic hardware support for hydrate exploitation and realizes a collection
of natural gas hydrates,
characterized in that the power supply unit is connected to the gas isolation and heat insulation unit
through a power supply cable (10);
the drilling and casing unit comprises a production well (11), perforated holes (12)
and a natural gas transport pipe (14), wherein the perforated holes (12) are formed
in a hydrate enrichment layer in the production well (11), the natural gas transport
pipe (14) has an end disposed in the production well (11) and an end connected to
the engineering ship support unit, and a depressurization control valve (13) is disposed
on the natural gas transport pipe (14);
the gas isolation and heat insulation unit is regularly laid on a mud volcano, covers
the mud volcano and comprises a gas isolation and heat insulation cover (15) connected
to the power supply unit, wherein the gas isolation and heat insulation cover (15)
sequentially comprises, from bottom to top, a heat-conducting aluminum foil layer
(151), a carbon fiber heating wire layer (152), an asbestos heat insulation layer
(153) and a heat-proof gas isolation layer (154) and supplies heat into a sediment
layer to heat a natural gas hydrate reservoir;
the gas isolation and heat insulation unit further comprises thermal electrodes (16)
which are disposed at positions with a high hydrate saturability and a large thickness,
the thermal electrodes (16) and the carbon fiber heating wire layer (152) adopt two
independent power supply circuits, and the power supply circuit of the thermal electrodes
(16) is separately buried between the asbestos heat insulation layer (153) and the
heat-proof gas isolation layer (154).
2. The coverage-type deep-sea mud volcano-associated natural gas hydrate exploitation
system according to Claim 1, wherein a safe unhooking system (8) is disposed at a
joint of an exploitation mother ship (1) and the natural gas transport pipe (14) to
handle a sudden severe weather or other disastrous events.
3. The coverage-type deep-sea mud volcano-associated natural gas hydrate exploitation
system according to Claim 1, wherein the power supply unit comprises a solar heating
panel (5), a photoelectric converter (6) and a storage battery (7) which are disposed
on the engineering ship support unit, and solar energy or electricity in the storage
battery is transmitted into the gas isolation and heat insulation cover (15) and the
thermal electrodes (16) through the power supply unit to heat the hydrates.
4. The coverage-type deep-sea mud volcano-associated natural gas hydrate exploitation
system according to Claim 2, wherein the engineering ship support unit comprises the
exploitation mother ship (1), a hoisting mechanism (2) and a natural gas storage device
(3), a flow control valve (4) is disposed on the natural gas storage device (3), a
temperature-pressure sensor (9) is disposed on the power supply cable (10), and an
operating state of the system is determined and controlled according to system information
collected by the temperature-pressure sensor (9) and the flow control valve (4).
5. An exploitation method based on the coverage-type deep-sea mud volcano-associated
natural gas hydrate exploitation system according to Claim 1, comprising the following
steps:
1) determining a central conduit of the mud volcano, drilling a well in the central
conduit of the mud volcano, and disposing a casing pipe and the perforated holes in
the central conduit of the mud volcano;
2) disposing the gas isolation and heat insulation unit on a flank of the mud volcano,
wherein the gas isolation and heat insulation unit comprises the gas isolation and
heat insulation cover (15) and the thermal electrodes (16), and the gas isolation
and heat insulation cover (15) sequentially comprises, from bottom to top, the heat-conducting
aluminum foil layer (151), the carbon fiber heating wire layer (152), the asbestos
heat insulation layer(153) and the heat-proof gas isolation layer (154);
3) heating the hydrates by means of the ship-borne power supply unit; and
4) collecting gas in the production well, and storing the collected gas on an engineering
ship.
6. The exploitation method based on the coverage-type deep-sea mud volcano-associated
natural gas hydrate exploitation system according to Claim 5, wherein in Step 1),
the position of the central conduit of the mud volcano is targeted according to the
position of a cold spring vent determined by a two-dimensional multi-channel seismic
section explanation result and a submarine image.
7. The exploitation method based on the coverage-type deep-sea mud volcano-associated
natural gas hydrate exploitation system according to Claim 5, wherein Step 1) is implemented
specifically through the following sub-steps:
drilling the well in the central conduit of the mud volcano through a deepwater drilling
technique, wherein the drilled well penetrates through a sediment covering layer (18)
above natural gas, stretches into a hydrate reservoir (17) and ends at bed rock of
the mud volcano, so that the production well (11) is formed; and
mounting the casing pipe, forming the perforated holes (12) in the hydrate reservoir
to guide water and gas generated by decomposing the hydrates, and disposing the depressurization
control valve (13) in the production well (11) to combine heat production and depressurization
to decompose the hydrates more sufficiently.
8. The exploitation method based on the coverage-type deep-sea mud volcano-associated
natural gas hydrate exploitation system according to Claim 5, wherein Step 2) is implemented
specifically through the following sub-steps:
drilling holes at position, with a high hydrate saturability and a large thickness,
of the flank of the mud volcano, and placing the thermal electrodes (16) in the holes;
then, regularly placing the gas isolation and heat insulation cover (15) on the mud
volcano by means of an engineering underwater robot, and connecting the gas isolation
and heat insulation cover (15) to the thermal electrodes (16) placed in the drilled
holes, wherein an opening is formed in a position, corresponding to a central hole
of the mud volcano, of the gas isolation and heat insulation cover (15).
9. The exploitation method based on the coverage-type deep-sea mud volcano-associated
natural gas hydrate exploitation system according to Claim 5, wherein in Step 4),
after gas released by the hydrates flows into the production well (11) via the perforated
holes (12), the gas is delivered into a natural gas storage device (3) on an exploitation
mother ship through the natural gas transport pipe (14), and a safe unhooking system
(8) is disposed at a joint of the natural gas transport pipe (14) and the exploitation
mother ship to handle a sudden severe weather or other disastrous events.