As a hot area in global gas hydrate research field

the hydrate exploration in the Gulf of Mexico has been carried out for decades. Especially in the selected key exploration targets

study area WR313 and GC955

the hydrate accumulation and enrichment features have been studied. Based on the gas hydrate exploration results of these two study areas

the vertical distribution

the lithofacies features of favorable reservoirs are summarized

and the hydrate accumulation mechanisms have been analyzed to reflect the latest gas hydrate exploration and research progress in this gulf. The gas hydrate exploration results indicate that there are mainly two occurrence types of gas hydrates existing in these study areas

namely

the pore-filling type in sand and the fracture-filling type in mud. The pore-filling type occurs in the deeper sand-rich sediments with relatively coarse grains

and the hydrate saturation is normally greater than 80 %

and may be up to 95 %; whereas the fracture-filling type occurs in the shallower clay dominant sediments with the low gas hydrate saturation generally less than 5 %. In addition

the main problems existing in the research of the gas hydrate accumulation mechanisms also have been discussed

emphasizing that the accumulation of gas hydrate is a complex process influenced by many factors. Meanwhile

it is also pointed out that the identification of local sand-rich bodies deserve special attention during gas hydrate accumulation selection.