MacKenzie Delta

ABSTRACT The Mallik gas hydrate field represents an onshore permafrost-associated gas hydrate accumulation in the Mackenzie Delta on the coast of the Beaufort Sea, Northwest Territories, Canada. This deposit contains a high concentration of natural gas hydrate with an underlying aquifer or free-gas zone at the base of the hydrate stability field. The physical and chemical properties of CH4 and C02 hydrates indicate the possibility of coincident C02 sequestration and CH4 production from the Mallik gas hydrate bearing zones. This study presents a numerical assessment of C02 sequestration and the recovery of CH4 from the gas hydrates at the Mallik site, Mackenzie Delta, Canada. 

Majorowicz Osadetz (2001) reported that the Mallik gas hydrate-bearing deposit in permafrost regions tends to occur at depths of 700 m to 1400 m where the permafrost is 100 m to 900 m thick. The Mallik 2002 Gas Hydrate Production Research Well Program conducted scientifically constrained production tests of the natural gas from the Mallik gas hydrate deposit, which is situated in the Mackenzie Delta on the coast of the Beaufort Sea, Northwest Territories, Canada (Dallimore et al. 2005a Satoh et al. 2005). Gas hydrate production tests demonstrated the potential for possible commercial production. Japan intends to establish commercial production from gas hydrates within the time frame of conventional natural gas production from the Mackenzie Delta (Yonezawa 2003). 

Dallimore, S.R., Collet, T.S., Uchida, T., Weber, M. 2005a. Overview of the science program for the Mallik 2002 Gas Hydrate Production Research Well Program., In Dallimore, S.R. T.S. Collett, T.S. (eds.),Scientific Results from the Mallik 2002 Gas Hydrate Production Research Well Program, Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada. Geological Survey of Canada, Bulletin 585. 

Moridis, G.J., Collett, T.S., Dallimore, S.R., Satoh, T., Hancock, S., Weatherill, B. 2004. Numerical studies of gas production from several CH4 hydrate zones at the Mallik site, Mackenzie Delta, Canada. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 43, 219-238. 

Hydrate Production Research Well Program, Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada, Ottawa, Canada, Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 585, including CD. 

Bily and Dick report hydrates in Canada s MacKenzie Delta... 

C2 Canada (Mackenzie Delta) Logs Bily and Dick (1974)... 

In the Mallik L-38 (ca. 69°27 latitude, 134°40 longitude) well drilled in 1972, Bily and Dick (1974) provided one of the first permafrost hydrate descriptions, from a MacKenzie Delta well site on Richard s Island bordering the Beaufort Sea in Canada. In 1998 the JAPEX/JNOC/GSC 2L-38 well at the same site found core and well-log evidence for hydrates from 900 to 1100 m with in situ porosities of 35% and hydrate concentrations often in excess of 80% of the pore volume. The documentation of the 2L-38 well is provided in a compilation of 31 technical papers in GSC Bulletin 544 (Dallimore et al., 1999). 

In April 1969 the Canadian Petroleum Association estimated the ultimate potential raw recoverable natural gas reserves of Canada to be 720.9 Tcf (at 14.73 psia and 60°F). If the total raw recoverable gas discovered through 1970 is subtracted from this value, a remaining undiscovered potential of 634.8 Tcf of raw gas is derived. Much of this undiscovered potential is attributed to Canada s frontier areas comprised of Northern Canada, Arctic Islands, Mackenzie Delta, Hudson Bay, and the continental shelf areas off the Atlantic, Paciflc, and Arctic Coasts. 

An important factor relative to Canada s natural gas potential is the interrelationship between the possible development of the potential in the Mackenzie Delta and Arctic Islands areas and the effect that this would have in unlocking the proved and potential gas resources of Alaska. The successful development of Canada s Mackenzie Delta and Arctic Islands resources would greatly enhance current proposals to move gas from Alaska and Northern Canada to Canadian and United States markets. 

Currently, the techniques to recover natural gas from in situ hydrate deposits are in their infancy. Possible techniques include dissociating the in situ hydrates by pressure reduction, heating, or solvent injection. Two test wells were drilled for characterization and production testing in the Mackenzie Delta region of Canada, by international efforts in 1998 and 2002. The results of the first test well have been reported. The release of production test results from the second well is expected. On 25 August 2005 from the Geological Survey of Canada. ... 

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