The Planning and Drilling of Hot Ice #1 - Gas Hydrate Exploration Well in the AlaskanArctic

摘要

Anadarko Petroleum entered into a cooperative effort in 2002with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and MaurerTechnology Inc., a subsidiary of Noble Drilling, to explore forand production test a Gas Hydrate zone. The purpose of theproject was to build on previous and ongoing R&D in the areaof onshore hydrate deposits to identify, quantify and predictthe production potential for hydrates. The plans included thecontinuous coring and then production testing of a GasHydrate well on the North Slope.The project scope was modified to include the field trial ofan onshore Mobile Platform that Anadarko had designed(patent applied for), presented by Kadaster and Millheim1 atthe 2004 annual IADC/SPE meeting in Dallas, Texas.With this scope modification, the project also became aprototype project for a cost effective and environmentallysafer exploration system in the remote reaches of the Arcticand other environmentally sensitive areas, such as the USRockies or the shallow water estuaries around the world.While the geological and geophysical analysis were beingconducted; the drilling / coring systems and the drilling rigwere selected; the modular platform systems commissioned;the drilling and platform sub-systems tested in simulated andactual arctic conditions, and the potential wellsites permitted.Field operations commenced in January 2003, suspendedin April 2003, resumed in January 2004 and completed inMarch 2004. The entire Hydrates Stability Zone was coredand analyzed. Although no hydrates were encountered,valuable information and field expertise regarding the hydrateexploration methods, the modular Arctic Platform and theprototype remote exploration systems were gained.