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
Large-scale depositional characteristics of the Ulleung Basin and its impact on electrical resistivity and Archie-parameters for gas hydrate saturation estimates
Characterization of gas hydrate reservoirs by integration of core and log data in the Ulleung Basin, East Sea
Characteristics and interpretation of fracture-filled gas hydrate: an example from the Ulleung Basin, East Sea of Korea
Brookian sequence well log correlation sections and occurrence of gas hydrates, north-central North Slope, Alaska
Historical methane hydrate project review
Electrical anisotropy of gas hydrate-bearing sand reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico
Subsurface gas hydrates in the northern Gulf of Mexico
Resource and hazard implications of gas hydrates in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: Results of the 2009 Joint Industry Project Leg II Drilling Expedition
Anisotropic models to account for large borehole washouts to estimate gas hydrate saturations in the Gulf of Mexico Gas Hydrate Joint Industry Project Leg II Alaminos 21 B well
Pore- and fracture-filling gas hydrate reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico Gas Hydrate Joint Industry Project Leg II Green Canyon 955 H well
Gulf of Mexico Gas Hydrate Joint Industry Project Leg II logging-while-drilling data acquisition and analysis
Well log characterization of natural gas-hydrates
Science and Products
- Science
Filter Total Items: 19
- Data
- Maps
- Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 185
Large-scale depositional characteristics of the Ulleung Basin and its impact on electrical resistivity and Archie-parameters for gas hydrate saturation estimates
Gas hydrate saturation estimates were obtained from an Archie-analysis of the Logging-While-Drilling (LWD) electrical resistivity logs under consideration of the regional geological framework of sediment deposition in the Ulleung Basin, East Sea, of Korea. Porosity was determined from the LWD bulk density log and core-derived values of grain density. In situ measurements of pore-fluid salinity asAuthorsMichael Riedel, Timothy S. Collett, H.-S. Kim, J.-J. Bahk, J.-H. Kim, B.-J. Ryu, G.-Y. KimCharacterization of gas hydrate reservoirs by integration of core and log data in the Ulleung Basin, East Sea
Examinations of core and well-log data from the Second Ulleung Basin Gas Hydrate Drilling Expedition (UBGH2) drill sites suggest that Sites UBGH2-2_2 and UBGH2-6 have relatively good gas hydrate reservoir quality in terms of individual and total cumulative thicknesses of gas-hydrate-bearing sand (HYBS) beds. In both of the sites, core sediments are generally dominated by hemipelagic muds which areAuthorsJ.-J. Bahk, G.-Y. Kim, J.-H. Chun, J.-H. Kim, J.Y. Lee, B.-J. Ryu, J.-H. Lee, B.-K. Son, Timothy S. CollettCharacteristics and interpretation of fracture-filled gas hydrate: an example from the Ulleung Basin, East Sea of Korea
Through the use of 2-D and 3-D seismic data, a total of thirteen sites were selected and drilled in the East Sea of Korea in 2010. A suite of logging-while-drilling (LWD) logs was acquired at each site. LWD logs from the UBGH2-3A well indicate significant gas hydrate in clay-bearing sediments including several zones with massive gas hydrate with a bulk density less than 1.0 g/m3 for depths betweenAuthorsMyung Woong Lee, Timothy S. CollettBrookian sequence well log correlation sections and occurrence of gas hydrates, north-central North Slope, Alaska
Gas hydrates are naturally occurring crystalline, ice-like substances that consist of natural gas molecules trapped in a solid-water lattice. Because of the compact nature of their structure, hydrates can effectively store large volumes of gas and, consequently, have been identified as a potential unconventional energy source. First recognized to exist geologically in the 1960s, significant accumuAuthorsKristen A. Lewis, Timothy S. CollettHistorical methane hydrate project review
In 1995, U.S. Geological Survey made the first systematic assessment of the volume of natural gas stored in the hydrate accumulations of the United States. That study, along with numerous other studies, has shown that the amount of gas stored as methane hydrates in the world greatly exceeds the volume of known conventional gas resources. However, gas hydrates represent both a scientific and techniAuthorsTimothy Collett, Jang-Jun Bahk, Matt Frye, Dave Goldberg, Jarle Husebo, Carolyn Koh, Mitch Malone, Craig Shipp, Marta TorresElectrical anisotropy of gas hydrate-bearing sand reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico
We present new results and interpretations of the electricalanisotropy and reservoir architecture in gashydrate-bearingsands using logging data collected during the Gulf of MexicoGasHydrate Joint Industry Project Leg II. We focus specifically on sandreservoirs in Hole Alaminos Canyon 21 A (AC21-A), Hole Green Canyon 955 H (GC955-H) and Hole Walker Ridge 313 H (WR313-H). Using a new logging-while-dAuthorsAnne E. Cook, Barbara I. Anderson, John Rasmus, Keli Sun, Qiming Li, Timothy S. Collett, David S. GoldbergSubsurface gas hydrates in the northern Gulf of Mexico
The northernGulf of Mexico (GoM) has long been a focus area for the study of gashydrates. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, work focused on massive gashydrates deposits that were found to form at and near the seafloor in association with hydrocarbon seeps. However, as global scientific and industrial interest in assessment of the drilling hazards and resource implications of gashydrate accelerated,AuthorsRay Boswell, Timothy S. Collett, Matthew Frye, William Shedd, Daniel R. McConnell, Dianna ShelanderResource and hazard implications of gas hydrates in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: Results of the 2009 Joint Industry Project Leg II Drilling Expedition
In the 1970's, Russian scientists were the first to suggest that gas hydrates, a crystalline solid of water and natural gas, and a historical curiosity to physical chemists, should occur in abundance in the natural environment. Since this early start, the scientific foundation has been built for the realization that gas hydrates are a global phenomenon, occurring in permafrost regions of the arctiAuthorsTimothy S. Collett, Ray BoswellAnisotropic models to account for large borehole washouts to estimate gas hydrate saturations in the Gulf of Mexico Gas Hydrate Joint Industry Project Leg II Alaminos 21 B well
Through the use of 3-D seismic amplitude mapping, several gashydrate prospects were identified in the Alaminos Canyon (AC) area of the Gulf of Mexico. Two locations were drilled as part of the Gulf of MexicoGasHydrate Joint Industry Project Leg II (JIP Leg II) in May of 2009 and a comprehensive set of logging-while-drilling (LWD) logs were acquired at each well site. LWD logs indicated that resistAuthorsM. W. Lee, T. S. Collett, K.A. LewisPore- and fracture-filling gas hydrate reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico Gas Hydrate Joint Industry Project Leg II Green Canyon 955 H well
High-quality logging-while-drilling (LWD) downhole logs were acquired in seven wells drilled during the Gulf of MexicoGasHydrateJointIndustryProjectLegII in the spring of 2009. Well logs obtained in one of the wells, the GreenCanyon Block 955Hwell (GC955-H), indicate that a 27.4-m thick zone at the depth of 428 m below sea floor (mbsf; 1404 feet below sea floor (fbsf)) contains gashydrate within sAuthorsM. W. Lee, T. S. CollettGulf of Mexico Gas Hydrate Joint Industry Project Leg II logging-while-drilling data acquisition and analysis
One of the objectives of the Gulf of Mexico Gas Hydrate Joint Industry Project Leg II (GOM JIP Leg II) was the collection of a comprehensive suite of logging-while-drilling (LWD) data within gas-hydrate-bearing sand reservoirs in order to make accurate estimates of the concentration of gas hydrates under various geologic conditions and to understand the geologic controls on the occurrence of gas hAuthorsTimothy S. Collett, Myung W. Lee, Margarita V. Zyrianova, Stefan A. Mrozewski, Gilles Guerin, Ann E. Cook, Dave S. GoldbergWell log characterization of natural gas-hydrates
In the last 25 years there have been significant advancements in the use of well-logging tools to acquire detailed information on the occurrence of gas hydrates in nature: whereas wireline electrical resistivity and acoustic logs were formerly used to identify gas-hydrate occurrences in wells drilled in Arctic permafrost environments, more advanced wireline and logging-while-drilling (LWD) tools aAuthorsTimothy S. Collett, Myung W. Lee - News