Timothy S Collett
Dr. Collett provides science leadership and management oversight within the Energy Resources Program (ERP) funded tasks in the USGS Gas Hydrate Project, which include the (1) North Slope of Alaska Gas Hydrate Energy Production Research Task, (2) Gas Hydrate Energy Assessment Task, (3) International Gas Hydrate Research and Science Advisor Task, and the (4) Gulf of Mexico Gas Hydrate Task.
Biography
Dr. Collett has been a research geologist in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) since 1983. Tim received a B.S. in geology from Michigan State University, a M.S. in geology from the University of Alaska, and a Ph.D. in geology from the Colorado School of Mines. Tim is the Project Chief of the Energy Resources Program funded gas hydrate research efforts in the USGS. He has received the Department of the Interior Meritorious Service Award and the Golomb-Chilinger Medal from the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and the Natural Resources of Canada Public Service Award. Tim has been the Chief and Co-Chief Scientist of numerous domestic and international gas hydrate scientific and industrial drilling expeditions and programs. He has been the Co-Chief Scientists and Operational Manager for the India NGHP Expedition 01 and 02 gas hydrate drilling and testing projects. Tim was a Co-Chief Scientist of the international cooperative gas hydrate research project that was responsible for drilling dedicated gas hydrate production research wells in the Mackenzie Delta of Canada under the Mallik 1998 and 2002 efforts. Tim was the logging scientist on the Gulf of Mexico JIP Gas Hydrate Research Expedition in 2005 and is the Co-Chief Scientist of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 311, and the Gulf of Mexico JIP Leg II drilling project in 2009. He sailed as a science advisor on the Korean UBGH2 Expedition in 2010 and the 2017 University of Texas Gulf of Mexico 2-1 Hydrate Pressure Coring Expedition. Tim was also the Principal Investigator responsible for organizing and conducting the 1995 and 2008 USGS National Oil and Gas Assessment of natural gas hydrates. Tim is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Geophysics at the Colorado School of Mines. Tim’s current research efforts in the USGS deal mostly with domestic and international gas hydrate energy resource characterization studies. His ongoing gas hydrate assessment activities in Alaska are focused on assessing the energy resource potential of gas hydrates on the North Slope and supporting the domestic marine gas hydrate assessments being led by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Tim’s international gas hydrate activities include cooperative projects with research partners in India, Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, and Canada. Tim also continues to represent the USGS gas hydrate interest in the Gulf of Mexico through a U.S. Department of Energy cooperative. Tim has published more than 250 research papers along with 10 books and treatises on gas hydrates and other unconventional resources.
Science and Products
Results of the India National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 02
The Government of India, with the support of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), has released the initial results of the most comprehensive gas hydrate scientific drilling investigation ever undertaken. Coinciding with the release of the Journal of Marine and Petroleum Geology Special Issue on Marine Gas Hydrate Reservoir Systems Along the Eastern Continental Margin of India: Results of...
Assessment of Gas Hydrate Resources in the North Slope of Alaska, 2018
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has updated the previous 2008 assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable gas hydrate resources beneath the North Slope of Alaska. This new 2018 assessment again indicates the existence of technically recoverable gas hydrate resources―that is, resources that can be discovered, developed, and produced using current technology. Using a geology-based...
Alaska North Slope 2018 Hydrate 01 Stratigraphic Test Well
The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are leading an effort to conduct an extended gas hydrate production test in northern Alaska.
Gas Hydrates
Central Energy Resources Science Center - Gas Hydrates Project Page
U.S. Geological Survey Gas Hydrates Project
The USGS Gas Hydrates Project focuses on the study of natural gas hydrates in deepwater marine systems and permafrost areas. The primary goals are:
- Evaluate methane hydrates as a potential energy source
- Investigate the interaction between methane hydrate destabilization and climate change at short and long time scales, particularly in the Arctic
- Study the spatial ...
Gas Hydrates- Climate and Hydrate Interactions
Breakdown of gas hydrates due to short- or long-term climate change may release methane to the ocean-atmosphere system. Methane that reaches the atmosphere can in turn exacerbate climate warming. Studies of methane hydrate dynamics and methane release on the continental shelf and upper slope in the US Arctic and Atlantic margin are tracking these processes.
Gas Hydrates-Energy
Natural gas production from methane hydrates may someday prove viable. The USGS Gas Hydrate Project takes part in US and international programs to investigate the potential of deepwater marine and permafrost gas hydrates as an energy resource. Long-term production tests are the next step in this research.
Gas Hydrates - Primer
What is Gas Hydrate?
Gas hydrate is an ice-like crystalline form of water and low molecular weight gas (e.g., methane, ethane, carbon dioxide). On Earth, gas hydrates occur naturally in some marine sediments and within and beneath permafrost. Gas hydrates have also been inferred on other planets or their moons.
At the molecular level, gas hydrate...
Marine Methane Hydrate Field Research Plan
In 2013, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), in partnership with the Consortium for Ocean Leadership (COL), initiated a new field-focused methane hydrate research planning effort that would inform, and potentially lead to, future off shore drilling field expeditions. The primary objective of this project was to conduct planning that would help...
Successful Test of Gas Hydrate Production Test Well Ignik Sikumi on Alaska's North Slope
On May 2, 2012 the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the completion of the field testing phase of the Ignik Sikumi gas hydrate production test well project on the North Slope of Alaska. The USGS participated in many phases of this work, including originally identifying the test site, which was based on almost 30 years of USGS geologic studies on gas hydrates in northern Alaska.
Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well
Field Report
Korean National Gas Hydrate Program, Second Ulleung Basin Gas Hydrate Drilling Expedition
As a part of Korean National Gas Hydrate Program, the Second Ulleung Basin Gas Hydrate Drilling Expedition (UBGH2) was successfully performed by using the D/V Fugro Synergy to establish 13 research drill sites in the period of time from July 8 to September 30, 2010. The first leg of this expedition focused on logging-while-drilling operations, while the second leg focused on both conventional...
USGS National and Global Oil and Gas Assessment Project-Northern Alaska Province, Gas Hydrate Assessment Unit Boundaries and Assessment Input Data Forms
This data release contains the boundaries of assessment units and input data for the assessment of undiscovered gas hydrate resources on the north slope of Alaska. The Assessment Unit is the fundamental unit used in the National Assessment Project for the assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources. The Assessment Unit is defined within the context of the higher-level Total Petroleum...
Introduction to Special Issue: Gas Hydrates in Green Canyon Block 955, deep-water Gulf of Mexico: Part I
No abstract available.
Boswell, Ray; Collett, Timothy; Cook, Ann E.; Flemings, Peter B. Pressure coring operations during The University of Texas-Gulf of Mexico 2-1 (UT-GOM2-1) Hydrate Pressure Coring Expedition in Green Canyon Block 955, northern Gulf of Mexico
In May 2017, The University of Texas Hydrate Pressure Coring Expedition Gulf of Mexico 2-1 (UT-GOM2-1) drilled two adjacent holes in Green Canyon Block 955 in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico as part of The University of Texas at Austin and US Department of Energy Deepwater Methane Hydrate Characterization and Scientific Assessment. Expedition...
Thomas, Carla; Phillips, Stephen C.; Flemings, Peter B.; Santra, Manasij; Hammon, Helen; Collett, Timothy; Cook, Ann; Pettigrew, Tom; Mimitz, Mike; Holland, Melanie; Schultheiss, Peter Pressure coring a Gulf of Mexico deep-water turbidite gas hydrate reservoir: Initial results from The University of Texas–Gulf of Mexico 2-1 (UT-GOM2-1) Hydrate Pressure Coring Expedition
The University of Texas Hydrate Pressure Coring Expedition (UT-GOM2-1) recovered cores at near in situ formation pressures from a gas hydrate reservoir composed of sandy silt and clayey silt beds in Green Canyon Block 955 in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico. The expedition results are synthesized and linked to other detailed analyses presented in...
Flemings, Peter; Phillips, Stephen; Boswell, Ray; Collett, Timothy; Cook, Ann; Dong, Tiannong; Frye, Matthew; Goldberg, David; Guerin, Giles; Holland, Melanie; Jang, Junbong; Meazell, Kevin; Morrison, Jamie; O'Connell, Joshua; Petrou, Ethan; Pettigrew, Tom; Polito, Peter; Portnov, Alexey; Santra, Manasj; Schultheiss, Peter; Seol, Yongkoo; Shedd, William; Solomon, Evan S.; Thomas, Carla; Waite, William F.; You, Kehua EMD Gas Hydrates Committee annual report
Global research on the potential commercial viability of gas extraction from gas hydrates is continuing, predominantly in Asia and in the United States, where recent efforts have focused on the exploration and characterization of gas hydrate petroleum systems and conducting controlled production tests of gas hydrate deposits hosted in mostly sand-...
Collett, Timothy Petrophysical and geomechanical properties of gas hydrate-bearing sediments recovered from Alaska North Slope 2018 Hydrate-01 Stratigraphic Test Well
Knowledge of petrophysical and geomechanical properties of gas hydrate-bearing sediments are essential for predicting reservoir responses to gas production. The same information is also needed for the designing of production well completions such as specifications for artificial lift, test site water storage capacity, and mesh size for the sand...
Yoneda, Jun; Jin, Yusuke; Muraoka, Michihiro; Oshima, Motoi; Suzuki, Kiyofumi; Walker, Mike; Westacott, Donald; Otsuki, Satoshi; Kumagai, Kenichi; Collett, Timothy; Boswell, Ray; Okinaka, Norihiro Design and operations of the Hydrate 01 Stratigraphic test well, Alaska North Slope
The National Energy Technology Laboratory, the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation, and the U.S. Geological Survey are leading an effort to conduct an extended gas hydrate production test in northern Alaska. The proposed production test required the drilling of an initial stratigraphic test well (STW) to confirm the geologic conditions...
Collett, Timothy S.; Zyrianova, Margarita V.; Okinaka, Norihiro; Wakatsuki, Motoi; Boswell, Ray; Marsteller, Scott; Minge, David; Crumley, Stephen; Itter, David; Hunter, Robert D. Alaska North Slope 2018 Hydrate-01 Stratigraphic Test Well: Technical results
The Hydrate-01 Stratigraphic Test Well was drilled in December 2018 to confirm that a seismically-identified location within the western Prudhoe Bay Unit might be suitable for extended-duration scientific production testing. The well tested two primary targets: the deeper Unit B is highly favorable due to optimal reservoir temperature and minimal...
Boswell, Ray; Collett, Timothy; Suzuki, Kiyofumi; Yoneda, Jun; Haines, Seth S.; Okinaka, Nori; Tamaki, Machiko; Crumley, Stephen; Itter, David; Hunter, Robert Gas hydrate saturation estimation from acoustic log data in the 2018 Alaska North Slope Hydrate-01 stratigraphic test well
Completed in December 2018, the Alaska North Slope Hydrate 01 stratigraphic test well provides a wealth of logging-while-drilling (LWD) data for strata to below the base of gas hydrate stability (BGHS). This well is intended to be the first of three wells drilled for a long-term gas hydrate production test to be conducted by the U.S. Department...
Haines, Seth S.; Collett, Timothy; Boswell, Ray; Lim, Teck; Okinaka, Nori; Suzuki, Kiyofumi; Fujimoto, Akira Natural gas hydrates: Status of potential as an energy resource
Gas hydrate is a widespread naturally-occurring combination of water and natural gases. Gas hydrate is found in shallow sediments of deepwater regions of the continental margins and in areas of continuous permafrost. Where gas supply is sufficient and migration pathways connect gas sources to favorable reservoirs, gas hydrate can accumulate to...
Boswell, Ray; Hancock, Steve; Yamamoto, Koji; Collett, Timothy; Pratap, Mahendra; Lee, Sung-Rock Permeability anisotropy and relative permeability in sediments from the National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 02, offshore India
Gas and water permeability through hydrate-bearing sediments essentially governs the economic feasibility of gas production from gas hydrate deposits. Characterizing a reservoir’s permeability can be difficult because even collocated permeability measurements can vary by 4-5 orders of magnitude, due partly to differences between how various...
Dai, Sheng; Kim, J.; Xu, Yue; Waite, William F.; Jang, Junbong; Yoneda, J.; Collett, Timothy S.; Kumar, Pushpendra Physical property characteristics of gas hydrate-bearing reservoir and associated seal sediments collected during NGHP-02 in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, in the offshore of India
India’s National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 02 (NGHP-02), was conducted to better understand geologic controls on gas hydrate occurrence and morphology, targeting potentially coarse-grained sediments near the base of the continental slope offshore eastern India. This study combines seismic, logging-while-drilling data, and a petroleum systems...
Jang, Junbong; Waite, William F.; Stern, Laura A.; Collett, Timothy S.; Kumar, Pushpendra Compressibility and particle crushing of Krishna-Godavari Basin sediments from offshore India: Implications for gas production from deep-water gas hydrate deposits
Depressurizing a gas hydrate reservoir to extract methane induces high effective stresses that act to compress the reservoir. Predicting whether a gas hydrate reservoir is viable as an energy resource requires enhanced understanding of the reservoir’s compressibility and susceptibility to particle crushing in response to elevated effective stress...
Kim, J.; Dai, Sheng; Jang, Junbong; Waite, William F.; Collett, Timothy S.; Kumar, Pushpendra
Special Issue Highlights One of the Most Extensive Gas Hydrate Datasets Ever Collected
The USGS and its research partners in India and Japan have reported on one of the most extensive data sets ever collected on the occurrence of natural gas hydrate.
USGS Estimates 53.8 Trillion Cubic Feet of Natural Gas Hydrate Resources in the Alaska North Slope
Access to 3D seismic mapping, along with a greater understanding of gas hydrate reservoir properties, yields estimates that are more precise.
Test Well Confirms Two Gas Hydrate Reservoirs in Alaska North Slope
In the far north of Alaska, near the giant Prudhoe Bay oil field, an international research consortium has been studying the potential of an altogether different energy source. In late December of 2018, drilling operations confirmed the existence of two high-quality reservoirs that were fully saturated with a potential alternative fuel source: gas hydrate.
When Ice Yields Fire
When can ice yield fire? That’s the burning question at the heart of one of USGS’s longest-running research programs to date: the exploration of gas hydrates.
Large Deposits of Potentially Producible Gas Hydrate Found in Indian Ocean
This research is the result of a partnership between the Government of India, the Government of Japan, and U.S. scientists.