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
Alaska North Slope regional gas hydrate production modeling forecasts
Downhole well log and core montages from the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope
Documenting channel features associated with gas hydrates in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, offshore India
The characteristics of gas hydrates recovered from the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope
Geologic controls on gas hydrate occurrence in the Mount Elbert prospect, Alaska North Slope
In-situ gas hydrate hydrate saturation estimated from various well logs at the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope
Gas hydrate prospecting using well cuttings and mud-gas geochemistry from 35 wells, North Slope, Alaska
Multicomponent seismic methods for characterizing gas hydrate occurrences and systems in deep-water Gulf of Mexico
Gas production from a cold, stratigraphically-bounded gas hydrate deposit at the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope: Implications of uncertainties
Analysis of formation pressure test results in the Mount Elbert methane hydrate reservoir through numerical simulation
Formation pressure testing at the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope: Operational summary, history matching, and interpretations
Challenges, uncertainties, and issues facing gas production from gas-hydrate deposits
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Alaska North Slope regional gas hydrate production modeling forecasts
A series of gas hydrate development scenarios were created to assess the range of outcomes predicted for the possible development of the “Eileen” gas hydrate accumulation, North Slope, Alaska. Production forecasts for the “reference case” were built using the 2002 Mallik production tests, mechanistic simulation, and geologic studies conducted by the US Geological Survey. Three additional scenariosAuthorsS.J. Wilson, R.B. Hunter, Timothy S. Collett, S. Hancock, R. Boswell, B.J. AndersonDownhole well log and core montages from the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope
The BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well was an integral part of an ongoing project to determine the future energy resource potential of gas hydrates on the Alaska North Slope. As part of this effort, the Mount Elbert well included an advanced downhole geophysical logging program. Because gas hydrate is unstable at ground surface pressure and temperature conditions, a majAuthorsTimothy S. Collett, R.E. Lewis, William J. Winters, M. W. Lee, K.K. Rose, R.M. BoswellDocumenting channel features associated with gas hydrates in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, offshore India
During the India National Gas Hydrate Program (NGHP) Expedition 01 in 2006 significant sand and gas hydrate were recovered at Site NGHP-01-15 within the Krishna–Godavari Basin, East Coast off India. At the drill site NGHP-01-15, a 5–8 m thick interval was found that is characterized by higher sand content than anywhere else at the site and within the KG Basin. Gas hydrate concentrations were deterAuthorsM. Riedel, Timothy S. Collett, Ude ShankarThe characteristics of gas hydrates recovered from the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope
Systematic analyses have been carried out on two gas hydrate-bearing sediment core samples, HYPV4, which was preserved by CH4 gas pressurization, and HYLN7, which was preserved in liquid-nitrogen, recovered from the BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Stratigraphic Test Well. Gas hydrate in the studied core samples was found by observation to have developed in sediment pores, and the distribution of hydratAuthorsH. Lu, Thomas Lorenson, I.L. Moudrakovski, J.A. Ripmeester, Timothy S. Collett, R.B. Hunter, C.I. RatcliffeGeologic controls on gas hydrate occurrence in the Mount Elbert prospect, Alaska North Slope
Data acquired at the BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, drilled in the Milne Point area of the Alaska North Slope in February, 2007, indicates two zones of high gas hydrate saturation within the Eocene Sagavanirktok Formation. Gas hydrate is observed in two separate sand reservoirs (the D and C units), in the stratigraphically highest portions of those sands, and is noAuthorsR. Boswell, K. Rose, Timothy S. Collett, Myung W. Lee, William J. Winters, Kristen A. Lewis, Warren F. AgenaIn-situ gas hydrate hydrate saturation estimated from various well logs at the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope
In 2006, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed detailed analysis and interpretation of available 2-D and 3-D seismic data and proposed a viable method for identifying sub-permafrost gas hydrate prospects within the gas hydrate stability zone in the Milne Point area of northern Alaska. To validate the predictions of the USGS and to acquire critical reservoir data needed to develop a long-termAuthorsMyung W. Lee, Timothy S. CollettGas hydrate prospecting using well cuttings and mud-gas geochemistry from 35 wells, North Slope, Alaska
Gas hydrate deposits are common on the North Slope of Alaska around Prudhoe Bay; however, the extent of these deposits is unknown outside of this area. As part of a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Bureau of Land Management gas hydrate research collaboration, well-cutting and mud-gas samples have been collected and analyzed from mainly industry-drilled wells on the North Slope for the purpose ofAuthorsT.D. Lorenson, Timothy S. CollettMulticomponent seismic methods for characterizing gas hydrate occurrences and systems in deep-water Gulf of Mexico
In-situ characterization and quantification of natural gas hydrate occurrences remain critical research directions, whether for energy resource, drilling hazard, or climate-related studies. Marine multicomponent seismic data provide the full seismic wavefield including partial redundancy, and provide a promising set of approaches for gas hydrate characterization. Numerous authors have demonstratedAuthorsSeth S. Haines, Myung W. Lee, Timothy S. Collett, Bob A. HardageGas production from a cold, stratigraphically-bounded gas hydrate deposit at the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope: Implications of uncertainties
As part of an effort to identify suitable targets for a planned long-term field test, we investigate by means of numerical simulation the gas production potential from unit D, a stratigraphically bounded (Class 3) permafrost-associated hydrate occurrence penetrated in the BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well on North Slope, Alaska. This shallow, low-pressure deposit has hAuthorsG. J. Moridis, S. Silpngarmlert, M. T. Reagan, Timothy S. Collett, K. ZhangAnalysis of formation pressure test results in the Mount Elbert methane hydrate reservoir through numerical simulation
Targeting the methane hydrate (MH) bearing units C and D at the Mount Elbert prospect on the Alaska North Slope, four MDT (Modular Dynamic Formation Tester) tests were conducted in February 2007. The C2 MDT test was selected for history matching simulation in the MH Simulator Code Comparison Study. Through history matching simulation, the physical and chemical properties of the unit C were adjusteAuthorsM. Kurihara, A. Sato, K. Funatsu, H. Ouchi, Y. Masuda, H. Narita, Timothy S. CollettFormation pressure testing at the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope: Operational summary, history matching, and interpretations
In February 2007, the U.S. Department of Energy, BP Exploration (Alaska), and the U.S. Geological Survey, collected open-hole pressure-response data, as well as gas and water sample collection, in a gas hydrate reservoir (the BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well) using Schlumberger's Modular Dynamics Formation Tester (MDT) wireline tool. Four such MDT tests, ranging fromAuthorsB. Anderson, S. Hancock, S. Wilson, C. Enger, Timothy S. Collett, R. Boswell, R. HunterChallenges, uncertainties, and issues facing gas production from gas-hydrate deposits
The current paper complements the Moridis et al. (2009) review of the status of the effort toward commercial gas production from hydrates. We aim to describe the concept of the gas-hydrate (GH) petroleum system; to discuss advances, requirements, and suggested practices in GH prospecting and GH deposit characterization; and to review the associated technical, economic, and environmental challengesAuthorsG. J. Moridis, Timothy S. Collett, M. Pooladi-Darvish, S. Hancock, C. Santamarina, R. Boswel, T. Kneafsey, J. Rutqvist, M. B. Kowalsky, M. T. Reagan, E. D. Sloan, A. K. Sum, C. A. Koh - News