Methane Hydrate “Flammable Ice”: Too Much Drilling, Not Enough Research

According to the New York Times, Japan has recently extracted a notable amount of Methane Hydrate, colloquially known as “Flammable Ice.” The NYTimes writes that “The gas, whose extraction from the undersea hydrate was thought to be a world first, could provide an alternative source of energy to known oil and gas reserves.”

Officials at Japan are excited, but they are not the only ones. Methane Hydrate was found off the shores of Alaska in 2011, and the Department of Energy officially signed the Methane Hydrates R&D Act of 2000 and the subsequent Energy Act of 2005. These acts sought to increase US partnership with other government agencies, academics and industries in the research, modeling, and production of this energy source.[1]

Energy independence has become a major source of concern for many countries in the developed and developing worlds. Countries such as Venezuela, Russia, Iran, and other members of OPEC all have an advantage in today’s world, whose infrastructure still depends on fossil fuel. Geopolitics is of particular concern for countries like the US and Japan. Japan has been reeling from a nuclear disaster it recently underwent and the US population is still hesitant to adopt nuclear power. Therefore, fossil fuels and renewable energy seem to be promising fields to develop in.

Yet, given that the Chief of the US Pacific Forces, Admiral Samuel Locklear III, has recently announced climate change to be America’s biggest threat, one must wonder what this Methane Hydrate is and what are the consequences of mass drilling for Methane Hydrate?

Methane Hydrate is a “naturally-occurring frozen compound formed when water and methane combine at moderate pressure and relatively low temperature conditions. Methane hydrates represent a highly concentrated form of methane, with a cubic meter of idealized methane hydrate containing 0.8 m3 of water and more than 160 m3 of methane at standard temperature-pressure conditions.”[2] It potentially could provide a significant source of gas hydrate. It has been found off the coasts of Japan, the United States and Canada, and is currently being investigated by Norway and China in their respective oceanic territories.

What are the environmental consequences of Methane Hydrate? According to a previous Huffington Post article on the matter “Most deposits are below the sea floor off the continental shelf or under permafrost. Shallow pockets of methane hydrate release the potent greenhouse gas into the atmosphere and that process is exacerbated by climate warming.” In addition, “Methane is 20 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than CO2, though not as long-lived.”

Still, available data on the subject of Methane Hydrate is scarce, and it seems like the consequences of drilling within the permafrost of deep ocean floors is not well researched and the exact effects of Methane Hydrate are still uncertain to the few scholars who are writing about and studying this field. In sum, too much drilling re Methane Hydrate, not enough research.

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