Have heard of these massive frozen underwater Methane deposits discussed in years past -- even wild eyed speculation that it explained some of the Bermuda triangle history (melting and lowering density of water in the area)
Had not heard of the work being done in Japan to try developing as a commericial power option.
Methane hydrate deposits could hold up to 15 times the amount of gas as the world’s shale deposits. At the same time, they represent more carbon than all of the world’s fossil fuels combined. So, it’s no wonder that the response to recent announcements by the Japanese has been a bit mixed.
Methane hydrates (a.k.a. methane clathrates or fire ice) are solid compounds where methane is literally trapped in water. The substance looks like ice and can be found deep on the ocean floor, locked under layers of sediments.
Last Tuesday, Japan announced that researchers have successfully produced natural gas from offshore methane hydrates in the the Eastern Nankai Trough. In the words of energy analyst Jesse Jenkins, this success could have explosive implications. In his article, posted Friday on The Energy Collective, Jenkins explains his views on the impact of unlocking this resource, stating that:
“Of course, just as with shale gas, not all of this potential energy resource will prove technically recoverable. Yet if (or should we say when?) technology to commercially extract gas from hydrates is developed, the implications for global energy markets are staggering nonetheless.”
Methane hydrates are a PITA for deepwater oil & gas production. They can form in subsea well flowlines(and pipelines), and plug them. We pump methanol or LDHI to subsea wells to prevent them.
"Life is a bitch. Shit happens. Adapt, improvise, and overcome. Acknowledge it, and move on."
IIRC, they are also MUCH MORE efficient at trapping greenhouse gases than CO2, by a factor of at least 10x. As said in the OP, it's little wonder this is greeted with mixed reactions.
POLITICIANS & DIAPERS NEED TO BE CHANGED OFTEN AND FOR THE SAME REASON
A person properly schooled in right and wrong is safe with any weapon. A person with no idea of good and evil is unsafe with a knitting needle, or the cap from a ballpoint pen.
I remain pessimistic given the way BATF and the anti gun crowd have become tape worms in the guts of the Republic. - toad
blackeagle603 wrote:Yeah greens are freaked by it because it's a huge source of carbon and would get another CO2 source.
Like CO2 is a BAD thing!
Some of those idiots seem to believe that they (trees and bushes) need OXYGEN to survive. A LARGE MAJORITY of them have NO IDEA just what our atmosphere contains (what we breathe on a second-by-second basis). I blame our pubelick edumacation system.
POLITICIANS & DIAPERS NEED TO BE CHANGED OFTEN AND FOR THE SAME REASON
A person properly schooled in right and wrong is safe with any weapon. A person with no idea of good and evil is unsafe with a knitting needle, or the cap from a ballpoint pen.
I remain pessimistic given the way BATF and the anti gun crowd have become tape worms in the guts of the Republic. - toad
At least at one time, a large concern was how stable those hydrates are - there was a fear that they might break up come to the surface and cause major issues.
