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New Project to Explore Energy Potential
Methane hydrates are a tantalizing energy prospect. A mixture of natural gas
and water frozen into ice crystals, hydrates could be an immense future source
of clean energy. Scientists estimate that if only one percent of the hydrate
resource in the United States could be tapped, America's natural gas supplies
could be more than doubled.
Yet hydrates might also pose a hazard to drilling, especially offshore. Numerous
landslide scars detected on relatively gentle slopes of the continental shelf
may be evidence of hydrates breaking apart at or just below the ocean floor.
Although a seafloor hydrate slide has never been observed, safety concerns arise
as companies probe for oil and gas in deeper offshore waters where encounters
with hydrates are more likely.
Hydrates are formed when a cage-like lattice of ice encases molecules of methane,
the chief constituent of natural gas. When the hydrate forms, the trapped methane
compresses; a cubic centimeter of methane hydrate, when it melts at room temperature,
will release about 160 cubic centimeters of methane.
A 1995 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimate of both marine and arctic hydrate
resources revealed the immense energy potential of hydrates. Using seismic surveys,
well logging, and core samples extracted in the internationally-sponsored Ocean
Drilling Program, the USGS concluded that the hydrate resources of the United
States could be as much as 320,000 trillion cubic feet. By comparison, the United
States has about 167 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves
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