Chunk of burning methane hydrate. The inset image shows the hydrate's molecular structure: A lattice of water ice that traps the methane inside. Courtesy U.S. Geological Survey. Via Wired
New discoveries of frozen methane hydatres deep under the ocean coupled with new drilling and recovery techniques could make these enormous reserves of natural gas both safe and possible to recover.
Previous methods were dangerous, as they used reserves near the surface which meant huge amounts of methane could be released into the atmosphere. However tests using these new techniques and deeper drilling depths have been successful.
While no one believes that all of the world’s methane hydrates will be recoverable, the scale of global reserves has been described by the U.S. Department of Energy as “staggering.”
Via Peak Energy
