Release Date: October 19, 2001

ICE THAT BURNS - Flames from burning hydrate crystals.

MORGANTOWN, WV - 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.

To determine whether hydrates are tomorrow's new gas frontier or a dangerous foe for future drillers, the U.S. Department of Energy's Strategic Center for Natural Gas - part of the agency's National Energy Technology Laboratory - has selected six new projects valued at almost $48 million.

The six are [click on each project for more details]:

• University of California at San Diego, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, San Diego, CA, which will study hydrates in the northern Gulf of Mexico;

• Joint Oceanographic Institutions, Washington, D.C., which will develop new tools for recovering and analyzing hydrate cores from ocean sediments;

• Chevron Petroleum Technology Co., Houston, TX, which proposes to ultimately drill into hydrates in the Gulf of Mexico;

• Halliburton Energy Services Inc., Houston, TX, which will conduct laboratory experiments to develop reservoir models and simulators that can be used to predict the behavior of hydrate formations during gas production;

• Maurer Technology Inc., Houston, TX, which will concentrate on hydrates formed beneath the Arctic permafrost in Northern Alaska;

• BP Exploration Inc., Anchorage, AK, which will also focus on determining whether gas hydrates and associated gas resources on the Arctic North Slope offer future commercial prospects.

What are Methane Hydrates?

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.

Methane hydrates form in generally two types of geologic environments: in permafrost regions where cold temperatures dominate and beneath the sea in sediments of the outer continental margins where high pressure dominate. Hydrates can also form a seal that traps more conventional supplies of natural gas seeping toward the surface.

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 proved natural gas reserves and about 1,400 trillion cubic feet of total gas resources in formations other than methane hydrates.

DOE's New Interest

DOE's initial hydrate studies, from 1982 to 1992, helped researchers gain a better understanding of hydrates but came to an end as priorities shifted to more near-term exploration and production R&D. Work continued at relatively small scales at the U.S. Geological Survey, universities, other laboratories, and overseas.

In 1997-98, the Energy Department revived its hydrate research program as exploration and drilling technology advanced and the need for greater long-term gas supplies became apparent. The new program, which involves joint efforts from several other federal agencies, is examining both the energy production potential and possible safety concerns of methane hydrates.

Over the next two decades, as U.S. demand for clean-burning natural gas is projected to increase by more than 50 percent, producers will look for gas prospects in deeper offshore waters. These operations require drilling through areas likely to contain hydrates. Hydrates are also believed to overlie conventional offshore oil deposits.

Drilling and producing hydrates, however, are likely to pose enormous challenges. As hydrates dissociate into water or ice and methane, instabilities can be created within the seafloor or the wellbore. Therefore, technologies to locate and either avoid or deal with potential problem areas will be especially important.

Details on each of the new projects follow:

Project Details

• University of California at San Diego, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, San Diego, CA, proposes to conduct a field and laboratory study to better understand the formation and dissociation of exposed gas hydrates and gas hydrate-rich sediments in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The work will characterize the chemistry and structure of the hydrates, the composition of overlying seawater, and the chemistry, mineralogy, and hydrology of associated sediments and pore waters. Hydrates will be collected using a submersible vehicle and specially designed pressure chambers and sampling equipment. Methane release and its effect on the immediate environment will be monitored with a year-long seafloor installation of specialized sampling equipment and time-lapse camera surveillance.

  Project cost: $612,528; proposed DOE award: $550,002; participant share: $62,526;
  Project duration: 12 months;
  Principal investigator: Dr. Miriam Kastner, (858) 534-2065

• Joint Oceanographic Institutions, Washington, D.C., proposes to develop and test tools to sample and characterize methane hydrates using the systems and capabilities of the drilling research ship JOIDES Resolution (JOIDES stands for Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling). Future testing would be conducted in the Gulf of Mexico. The project's funds would benefit the Ocean Drilling Program, which seeks to improve in-situ core recovery systems that better characterize gas hydrates in the seafloor.

  Project cost: $4.197 million; proposed DOE award: $959,786; participant share: $3.23 million;
  Project duration: 18 months
  Principal investigator: Dr. Frank Rack, (202) 232-3900

• Chevron Petroleum Technology Co., Houston, TX, proposes a two-phase study that would drill for gas hydrates in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. After collecting and analyzing data from workshops and other sources, Chevron would devise a strategy to drill through hydrates, core them, and transport and test samples. Two wells would be drilled in areas rich in gas hydrates; a third well would be drilled nearby in an area that does not contain hydrates. Data on the drilling, seismic response, response and core from these sites would determine the effects of hydrates in the pore space of rocks. Depending on the results, a third phase involving the drilling of seven boreholes would be proposed.

  Project cost: $13.60 million; proposed DOE award: $10.58 million; participant share: $3.02 million;
  Project duration: 40 months;
  Principal investigator: Emrys Jones, (281) 596-2269

• Halliburton Energy Services Inc., Houston, TX, with Westport Technology Center International proposes to expand our knowledge of gas hydrates through lab experiments and analytic modeling. Specifically, the project would 1) identify and measure properties to characterize methane production from a reservoir typical to the Gulf of Mexico, 2) quantify the effects sediments have on these properties, 3) develop a reservoir model that integrates data from steps 1 and 2 to assess well productivity, and 4) develop a hydrate reservoir simulator by combining the reservoir model and geophysical properties models from the project with an in-house model.

  Project cost: $820,750; proposed DOE award: $655,750; participant share: $165,000;
  Project duration: 36 months;
  Principal investigator: Dr. Keshawa Shukla, (713) 470-8455

• Maurer Technology Inc., Houston, TX, proposes a two-phase project to evaluate existing best technologies to drill, complete, and produce methane from hydrates, and to drill, core, test, and instrument three gas hydrate wells in the Prudhoe Bay/Kuparuk River area of Northern Alaska. The project will obtain the field data required to verify geological, geophysical, and geochemical models of hydrates, and to plan and implement a program that safely and economically drills and produces gas from Arctic hydrates. Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and Noble Engineering and Development, LTD will assist Maurer.

  Project cost: $7.36 million; proposed DOE award: $3.99 million; participant share: $3.37 million;
  Project duration: 28 months;
  Principal investigator: William C. Maurer, (713) 683-8227

• BP Exploration Inc., Anchorage, AK, will characterize, quantify and determine the commercial viability of in situ, recoverable gas hydrates and associated free gas resources in three areas of the Alaska North Slope: Prudhoe Bay, Kuparuk River and Milne Point units. The project will provide practical input to reservoir and economic models, determine the feasibility of gas hydrate production, and provide leverage for exploration and field extension of hydrates in the three ANS areas being studied. The University of Alaska in Fairbanks, the University of Arizona in Tucson and the U.S. Geological Survey will assist BP.

  Project cost: $21.3 million; proposed DOE award: $13.27 million; participant share: $8.05 million;
  Project duration: 48 months;
  Principal investigator: Robert B. Hunter, (907) 564-5733