Preliminary study on electric resistance of hydrate-bearing sediments

The electric resistance method is an effective way for hydrate detection. It’s necessary to understand the effects of the main factors such as hydrate saturation on the electric resistance of hydrate-bearing sediments through experiments. It is of great significance to hydrate exploration and reserve estimation. By preparing hydrate-bearing samples with fine sand and clay skeletons, the electric resistance is studied. It is found that when there is no pore fluid in the samples and meanwhile the dry density of the skeletons is less than a certain value, the electric resistance of the hydrate-bearing sediments decreases with the increase of hydrate saturation. The change range decreases with the increase of dry density. When the hydrate and liquid THF coexist in the pores, the greater the volume fraction of the THF formed hydrate is and the more pore liquid THF exists, the greater the sediment resistance is. The electric resistance decreases with the increase of the hydrate saturation.