Page 137 - Handbook Of Multiphase Flow Assurance

Hydrate of natural gas 133

FIG. 5.25 Marha well drilling rig covered with gas hydrates after a blowout. Photo by Yuri Makogon, 1963, personal
communication, 1999.

1963 Europe onshore
Marha well drilling rig got covered with gas hydrates after a blowout as shown in Fig. 5.25.
T = −57 °C. The blowout gradually sealed itself. Sample placed in water in an upside-down
glass actively offgassed as a hydrate. As the air temperature warmed up to −40° hydrate
converted to ice.
According to Makogon and Omelchenko (2012), the Markha River field not the Markha
well should be considered the first discovery of a gas hydrate field in 1963. The well reached
a gas deposit at 1830 m depth, with reservoir temperature of no greater than 3.8 °C.
January 1966 Europe LPG storage tank valve
3/4 in. sampling valve in LPG storage sphere had a faulty handle. Operator used a 2 in.
drain valve to take LPG sample rather than using 3/4 in. sampling valves. A solid plug of ice
or hydrate stopped the flow which suddenly cleared with a large release of propane which
ignited.