Numerical simulation of gas hydrate exploitation from subsea reservoirs in the Black Sea

The potential of producing natural gas from subsea gas hydrate deposits located in the Black Sea is numerically studied within the German research project »SUGAR«. A case study reveals that the production by simple depressurization is possible but at quite low rates. It can be shown that the hydrate decomposition and thus the gas production strongly depend on the geophysical properties of the reservoir, the mass and heat transport within the reservoir, and the model settings. In particular, permeability and available heat required to decompose the hydrate, play an important role.