Indian National Gas Hydrate Study
First NGHP Expedition Results Show Potential for New Energy Source
Feb 25, 2008
Working through a unique international partnership called the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program (NGHP), the Indian Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) and United States Geological Survey (USGS) have released the results of what has been termed the world's first fully integrated gas hydrate exploration and research program conducted off the coast of the Indian subcontinent.
Gas Hydrates Detailed - Seen as a huge new potential source of clean energy, gas hydrates are ice-like combinations of natural gas and water that form in many regions of the world naturally. They occur primarily in the oceans and polar regions. Assessments of gas hydrate reserves are thought to greatly exceed known natural gas reserves.
While known reserves of natural gas are thought to total about 440 trillion cubic meters, some estimates for gas hydrate volumes exceed an amazing 8,000,000 trillion cubic meters of gas. Most researchers feel comfortable using a much lower estimate, but even these figures far exceed levels of known natural gas reserves.
Recovery of natural gas from gas hydrate formations is going to be a scientific and engineering challenge. This is in part because of the remote location of deposits and difficulty in extracting the natural gas from the frozen compound.
Results of NGHP Expedition No. 1 - Scientists on the first NGHP seagoing expedition drilled the ocean floor and logged core samples to study gas hydrate deposits. Some of the results are:
- Existence of a complete gas hydrate system was established in the Mahanadi Basin of the Bay of Bengal
- Gas hydrates occur in a number of different and complex geologic settings and the research team collected an extraordinary number of gas hydrate cores
- One of the greatest concentrations of gas hydrate material ever discovered was found in the Krishna-Godavari Basin
- Some of the deepest and thickest deposits of gas hydrates found to date were located in volcanic ash layers 600 meters below the seabed of the coast of the Andaman Islands
- Most gas hydrate materials sampled were found to contain methane produced by bacterial action with some regions seeing gas being formed by thermal processes
- Samples were taken from 21 sites, 9,250 meters of sedimentary section were penetrated and 2,850 meters of core samples taken
Indian Directorate General of Hydrocarbons V. K. Sibal said of the project in the report announcement, "The global gas hyadrate resources are estimated to be huge. Although the exploration and exploitation of gas hydrates pose significant challenges, the opportunities are unlimited. The combined wisdom of the scientific community from across the world could provide the answers and solutions to many of these challenges. The Indian gas hydrate program has been fortunate in having the benefits of a truly global collaboration in the form of the first gas hydrate expedition in Indian waters. The results of the studies are not only encouraging, but also very exciting."
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