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.
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. Tim’s international gas hydrate activities include cooperative projects with research partners in India, Korea, Japan, China, 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.
Professional Experience
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Research Geologist 1983-present
Education and Certifications
B.S. in geology from Michigan State University
M.S. in geology from the University of Alaska
Ph.D. in geology from the Colorado School of Mines
Science and Products
Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope: Coring operations, core sedimentology, and lithostratigraphy
Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope: Overview of scientific and technical program
Examination of core samples from the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope: Effects of retrieval and preservation
Pre- and post-drill comparison of the Mount Elbert gas hydrate prospect, Alaska North Slope
Gas geochemistry of the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope: implications for gas hydrate exploration in the Arctic
Seismic imaging of a fractured gas hydrate system in the Krishna-Godavari Basin offshore India
Toward production from gas hydrates: Current status, assessment of resources, and simulation-based evaluation of technology and potential
Unique problems associated with seismic analysis of partially gas-saturated unconsolidated sediments
Geomechanical response of permafrost-associated hydrate deposits to depressurization-induced gas production
Occurrence of gas hydrate in Oligocene Frio sand: Alaminos Canyon Block 818: Northern Gulf of Mexico
Preliminary report on the commercial viability of gas production from natural gas hydrates
Gas hydrate drilling transect across northern Cascadia margin - IODP Expedition 311
Science and Products
- Science
Filter Total Items: 19
- Data
- Maps
- Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 185
Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope: Coring operations, core sedimentology, and lithostratigraphy
In February 2007, BP Exploration (Alaska), the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Geological Survey completed the BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well (Mount Elbert well) in the Milne Point Unit on the Alaska North Slope. The program achieved its primary goals of validating the pre-drill estimates of gas hydrate occurrence and thickness based on 3-D seismic interpretAuthorsK. Rose, R. Boswell, Timothy S. CollettMount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope: Overview of scientific and technical program
The Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well was drilled within the Alaska North Slope (ANS) Milne Point Unit (MPU) from February 3 to 19, 2007. The well was conducted as part of a Cooperative Research Agreement (CRA) project co-sponsored since 2001 by BP Exploration (Alaska), Inc. (BPXA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to helAuthorsR.B. Hunter, Timothy S. Collett, R. Boswell, B.J. Anderson, S.A. Digert, G. Pospisil, R. Baker, M. WeeksExamination of core samples from the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope: Effects of retrieval and preservation
Collecting and preserving undamaged core samples containing gas hydrates from depth is difficult because of the pressure and temperature changes encountered upon retrieval. Hydrate-bearing core samples were collected at the BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well in February 2007. Coring was performed while using a custom oil-based drilling mud, and the cores were retrievedAuthorsT.J. Kneafsey, H. Lu, W. Winters, R. Boswell, R. Hunter, T. S. CollettPre- and post-drill comparison of the Mount Elbert gas hydrate prospect, Alaska North Slope
In 2006, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) completed a detailed analysis and interpretation of available 2-D and 3-D seismic data, along with seismic modeling and correlation with specially processed downhole well log data for identifying potential gas hydrate accumulations on the North Slope of Alaska. A methodology was developed for identifying sub-permafrost gas hydrate prospects withiAuthorsM. W. Lee, Warren F. Agena, Timothy S. Collett, T.L. InksGas geochemistry of the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope: implications for gas hydrate exploration in the Arctic
Gases were analyzed from well cuttings, core, gas hydrate, and formation tests at the BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, drilled within the Milne Point Unit, Alaska North Slope. The well penetrated a portion of the Eileen gas hydrate deposit, which overlies the more deeply buried Prudhoe Bay, Milne Point, West Sak, and Kuparuk River oil fields. Gas sources in the upperAuthorsT.D. Lorenson, T. S. Collett, R.B. HunterSeismic imaging of a fractured gas hydrate system in the Krishna-Godavari Basin offshore India
Gas hydrate was discovered in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) Basin during the India National Gas Hydrate Program (NGHP) Expedition 1 at Site NGHP-01-10 within a fractured clay-dominated sedimentary system. Logging-while-drilling (LWD), coring, and wire-line logging confirmed gas hydrate dominantly in fractures at four borehole sites spanning a 500m transect. Three-dimensional (3D) seismic data were subAuthorsM. Riedel, T. S. Collett, P. Kumar, A.V. Sathe, A. CookToward production from gas hydrates: Current status, assessment of resources, and simulation-based evaluation of technology and potential
Gas hydrates (GHs) are a vast energy resource with global distribution in the permafrost and in the oceans. Even if conservative estimates are considered and only a small fraction is recoverable, the sheer size of the resource is so large that it demands evaluation as a potential energy source. In this review paper, we discuss the distribution of natural GH accumulations, the status of the primaryAuthorsG. J. Moridis, T. S. Collett, R. Boswell, M. Kurihara, M. T. Reagan, C. Koh, E. D. SloanUnique problems associated with seismic analysis of partially gas-saturated unconsolidated sediments
Gas hydrate stability conditions restrict the occurrence of gas hydrate to unconsolidated and high water-content sediments at shallow depths. Because of these host sediments properties, seismic and well log data acquired for the detection of free gas and associated gas hydrate-bearing sediments often require nonconventional analysis. For example, a conventional method of identifying free gas usingAuthorsM. W. Lee, T. S. CollettGeomechanical response of permafrost-associated hydrate deposits to depressurization-induced gas production
In this simulation study, we analyzed the geomechanical response during depressurization production from two known hydrate-bearing permafrost deposits: the Mallik (Northwest Territories, Canada) deposit and Mount Elbert (Alaska, USA) deposit. Gas was produced from these deposits at constant pressure using horizontal wells placed at the top of a hydrate layer (HL), located at a depth of about 900??AuthorsJ. Rutqvist, G. J. Moridis, T. Grover, T. CollettOccurrence of gas hydrate in Oligocene Frio sand: Alaminos Canyon Block 818: Northern Gulf of Mexico
A unique set of high-quality downhole shallow subsurface well log data combined with industry standard 3D seismic data from the Alaminos Canyon area has enabled the first detailed description of a concentrated gas hydrate accumulation within sand in the Gulf of Mexico. The gas hydrate occurs within very fine grained, immature volcaniclastic sands of the Oligocene Frio sand. Analysis of well data aAuthorsR. Boswell, D. Shelander, M. Lee, T. Latham, T. Collett, G. Guerin, G. Moridis, M. Reagan, D. GoldbergPreliminary report on the commercial viability of gas production from natural gas hydrates
Economic studies on simulated gas hydrate reservoirs have been compiled to estimate the price of natural gas that may lead to economically viable production from the most promising gas hydrate accumulations. As a first estimate, $CDN2005 12/Mscf is the lowest gas price that would allow economically viable production from gas hydrates in the absence of associated free gas, while an underlying gas dAuthorsM.R. Walsh, S.H. Hancock, S.J. Wilson, S.L. Patil, G. J. Moridis, R. Boswell, T. S. Collett, C. A. Koh, E. D. SloanGas hydrate drilling transect across northern Cascadia margin - IODP Expedition 311
A transect of four sites (U1325, U1326, U1327 and U1329) across the northern Cascadia margin was established during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 311 to study the occurrence and formation of gas hydrate in accretionary complexes. In addition to the transect sites, a fifth site (U1328) was established at a cold vent with active fluid flow. The four transect sites represent differentAuthorsM. Riedel, Timothy S. Collett, M.J. Malone - News