THE EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION TEST OF GAS HYDRATE AND ITS RESEARCH PROGRESS AND EXPLORATION PROSPECT IN THE NORTHERN SOUTH CHINA SEA

Since the middle and late 1990s, the gas hydrate exploration in the northern South China Sea has gained great achievements and milestone breakthroughs. So far, two large gas hydrate genetic belts and three enriched regions have been identified through exploration and evaluation, and three gas hydrate deposits with more than 100 billion cubic meters of reserves confirmed. At the same time, through the two exploratory production tests in 2017 and 2020, the world records for total and daily gas production were surpassed, and the core technology of deep-water seafloor horizontal well drilling in shallow unconsolidated sediments succeeded, and a great leap from "exploratory production test" to "experimental production test" realized. However, the exploration and production test of gas hydrate resources in the South China Sea, a huge systematic project, still faces problems and challenges, such as the genetic type of gas hydrate, the characteristics of gas supply and production, the main control factors for genesis and accumulation of gas hydrate, the optimization and innovation of exploration and production test technology, the realization of commercial capacity, the selection of strategic regions for sustainable exploration and development of gas hydrate and the succession of resources and reserves. In conclusion, further efforts are required for the exploration and production test of gas hydrate in the South China Sea.