Because of the urgency of energy
transition for a net-zero society,
the world’s gas demand is rapidly increasing. Natural gas hydrate
(NGH) is regarded as the next alternate energy resource to meet the
demand, thanks to its high energy density and enormous reserves. As
two successful production trials and a series of relevant drilling
expeditions were implemented in the northern slope of the South China
Sea (SCS), it may now be the most promising district for NGH exploitation
in the world. The objective of this work is to review the recent research
advances on hydrate exploration status, reservoir geological features,
hydrate-bearing sediment geophysical properties, and hydrate exploitation
techniques related to the hydrate reservoirs in the SCS. Geological
surveys, well logging and core sampling were performed and helped
the analysis of hydrate occurrence, gas origin, and accumulation mechanism.
It is inferred that both microgenic and thermogenic gas present in
SCS hydrate reservoirs and the hydrate accumulation is primarily controlled
by the structure of the gas chimney. The characteristics of high porosity,
low permeability, weak diagenesis, weak strength, and complex hydrate
dissociation behaviors of the gas hydrate-bearing sediments from the
SCS determined that innovative exploitation approaches are required.
Different well configurations and reservoir stimulation techniques
were proposed to enhance the production efficiency and evaluated through
simulation and laboratory experiments. As the NGH development process
in the SCS progresses continuously, it attracts more and more research
interests from academic and engineering communities. We are convinced
that, with constant diligence and effort, China will achieve the goal
of safe and efficient commercial exploitation in the near future.