By Mallory Zelawski

Gas Hydrates
What are they?
How are they formed?
Where are they found?
What research is currently being done?
Why are they important to study?
Is this related to the Bermuda Triangle myth?
What are they?

A gas hydrate is a crystalline solid; its building

blocks consist of a gas molecule surrounded by a
cage of water molecules.
It is similar to ice, except that the structure is
stabilized by the gas molecule which is within the
cage of water molecules.
There are many gases which are suitable to form
hydrates, including carbon dioxide, hydrogen
sulfide, many low-carbon-number hydrocarbons, but
most marine gas hydrates contain methane. (USGS)
What are they? Cont’d

An example of the crystalline

form of a hydrate. (USGS)
How are they formed?

Gas Hydrates form at low temperatures and high pressures.

(USGS)
They form as the cement in pore spaces and in layers and
nodules of pure hydrate. They also have the capacity to fill
sediment pore space and reduce permeability, which acts as a
seal for gas traps. (USGS)
In permafrost areas, methane hydrates form when heat from
the Earth’s core cooks buried organic matter, releasing
methane. The gas percolates up through the sediments until it
reaches a zone where the combination of pressure and
temperatures favor the formation of hydrates. (Goho)
How are they formed? Cont’d

Those found in marine sediments are formed when bacteria

generate methane from breaking down organic matter in low
oxygen environments. (Goho & O’Driscoll) These bacteria are
usually found at pressures greater than 1000 atmospheres and
depths between 300-400 meters and 2500 meters. (Industry &
O’Driscoll)
Where are they found?

Gas hydrate has been found worldwide, wherever the

pressure and temperature conditions stabilize the hydrate
structure. (USGS)
It is present along continental margins and in polar
continental settings. (USGS)
Beneath the ocean they are found where water depths
exceed 300 to 500 meters, and can occur within a layer of
sediment as much as 1000 meters thick beneath the sea floor.
(USGS)
At high latitudes hydrates exist in association with
permafrost. (USGS)
Where are they found? Cont’d
There are 4 regions of hydrate concentration eon the continental
rise in the offshore region between New Jersey and Georgia,
including the Blake Ridge off of South Carolina. (USGS & Goho)
Hydrates have been found near Jolliet Field in the Gulf of
Mexico. (Texas)
Significant quantities of gas hydrate have been found in many
regions of the Arctic, including Siberia, the Mackenzie River
Delta, and the north slope of Alaska. (USGS)
Detection of hydrates has also occurred in the Nankai Trough
off of the east coast of Japan. (Goho)
Where are they found? Cont’d

Locations of hydrates throughout the world.

(USGS)
What research is currently being done?

The Mallik Project (Goho)

•Is located in the McKenzie River Delta in Canada’s
Northwest Territories
•This research began in the fall of 2001 with a large team of
international scientists.
•This research demonstrated that natural gas could be
obtained from gas hydrates.
What research is currently being done? Cont’d
The Nankai Trough
•Off of Japan’s Eastern Coast (Goho)
•Drilling began in 2004 with decent success in
finding that hydrates were abundant. (O’Driscoll)
•The results showed that 60 to 70 percent of the
sediments’ pores were filled with hydrates. (Goho)
•Starting in 2007, the Japanese team plans to begin
production tests to assess the economic potential
of the trough. If all goes well, the site could be
producing methane by 2016. (Goho)
What research is currently being done? Cont’d
Alaska’s North Slope (Bradner)
•BP Exploration is working with the U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE) on a joint research program to test the North Slope for
confirmation of the presence of hydrates around current oil fields.
•The drilling would be stratigraphic, in order to gather geologic
information about future drilling.
•No decision about the actual drilling has been made yet.
•One of the problems related to this area is that removal of the
hydrates may cause the surface to sink and pose risks for nearby
oil and gas facilities.
•A federal energy bill was passed in August 2004 which
contained two provisions that encouraged hydrate development.
Why are they important to study?

They previously had clogged gas and oil pipelines and

research had been done to chemically alter the hydrates to enable
them to flow through the pipes.
Large amounts could be present along the United States
coastline and could provide help for the economy.
Gas hydrates burn cleaner than other sources of natural gas,
and could help lower the amounts of greenhouse gases produced.
It is believed that there is more natural gas locked up in gas
hydrates than all other sources of hydrocarbon, and could be a
large source of natural gas in the future.
They may influence global climate, and have effects on the
continental slope and rise.
Why are they important to study? Cont’d
They previously had clogged gas and oil pipelines and
research had been done to chemically alter the hydrates to enable
them to flow through the pipes.

The blockages caused by hydrates were costly and time

consuming. A new method that uses chemical additives is looking
to solve this problem. The additives help to form an icy slush by
making the hydrates crystallize into specially tailored hydrates
where the size of the crystals is controlled. This would allow the
slush to be transported in the pipes with the gas and oil and
prevent blockages. This will reduce the costs of running pipelines.
It is also safer to transport the hydrates since they will burn
slowly but not explode, and if the lines rupture, only small
amounts will be released. The chemical additives are not yet
patented so are not available, but they are being worked on.
(Pierce)
Why are they important to study? Cont’d
Large amounts could be present along the United States
coastline and could provide help for the economy.

There are 4 regions of hydrate concentration eon the continental

rise in the offshore region between New Jersey and Georgia,
including the Blake Ridge off of South Carolina. (USGS & Goho)
Hydrates have been found near Jolliet Field in the Gulf of
Mexico. (Texas)
About ¼ of the world’s hydrates reside within the borers of the
U.S. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, even if only 1
% of the methane in these hydrates could be recovered, it would
more than double the current domestic supply of natural gas.
(Goho)
U.S consumption of natural gas has been increasing rapidly over
the last several decades. The domestic production of natural gas is
expected to fall short of demand as soon as 2020. (Goho)
Why are they important to study? Cont’d
Gas hydrates burn cleaner than other sources of natural gas, and
could help lower the amounts of greenhouse gases produced.

Producing gas hydrates would redirect methane away

from the atmosphere. (Texas)
Using hydrate methane industrially would convert it to
carbon dioxide, which would actual decrease the short-
term effect on atmospheric chemistry. (Texas)
Methane is an environmentally cleaner fuel than oil,
coal, or oil shale that all have immense environmental
impacts during production and combustion. (Texas)
Why are they important to study? Cont’d
It is believed that there is more natural gas locked up in gas
hydrates than all other sources of hydrocarbon, and could be a large
source of natural gas in the future.

Published estimates of the total energy reserves trapped in

methane hydrates vary considerably, but they all emphasize
the fact that the potential of methane in gas hydrates exceeds
the combined worldwide reserves of conventional oil and gas
reservoirs, coal, and oil shale by a wide margin. (Texas)
Fossil fuels will begin to decline sometime within the next
century, and at that time, oil companies will either go extinct,
or find another source of natural gas, such as hydrates.
(Texas)
Why are they important to study? Cont’d
Off of the southeastern United States, an area of 3000 sq. km, an
area known as Blake Ridge, is thought to contain a volume of
methane in hydrates that is equivalent to approximately 30 times
the annual U.S. consumption of gas.(USGS)
The USGS estimates that there is possibly as much as 500 trillion
cubic feet of gas that could be present in hydrates across the
onshore areas of the North Slope. (Bradner)
Global estimates for the amount of methane tied up in hydrates
varies greatly, but range within 2.8 x 10^15 to 8.0 x 10^18 trillion
cubic meters of gas. (Goho)
It is suggested that there is 100 times the amount of hydrate-
bound gas as there is of conventional natural gas resources. (Goho)
Why are they important to study? Cont’d
They may influence global climate, and have effects on the
continental slope and rise.
Methane is about 20 times more effective as a greenhouse gas
then carbon dioxide and gas hydrates may contain three orders of
magnitude more methane than exists in the present-day
atmosphere.
Gas hydrate is known to cement sediments and can have a
significant effect on their strength. The formation or breakdown
of hydrate may influence the occurrence of submarine
landslides. These landslides may release methane into the
atmosphere.
Hydrate breakdown causes the release of methane to the
atmosphere and can be related to pressure changes caused by
glacial sea level fluctuations, which means that it may play a
role in controlling long-term global climate change. (USGS)
Is this related to the Bermuda Triangle myth?
For a while, people thought that a possible explanation for
the Bermuda Triangle disappearances was due to a loss of
gas from gas hydrates. This is now believed to be false.
There are large amounts of gas hydrate in the sea floor
around the western side of the Bermuda Triangle, and it is
probably true that sea floor deposits collapsed due to
hydrate processes that caused landslides and released gas.
This gas release could possibly cause a ship to sink if
enough gas is released. If there was enough gas released, a
foam would be generated, and would be of such a low
density that the ship would not be able to displace enough
to float.
Is this related to the Bermuda Triangle myth? Cont’d

Evidence suggests that the collapse and abrupt release of

gas probably occurred at the end of the last glacial episode
about 15,000 years ago. This would not effect ships in any
of the recent past.
There also is a lack of evidence showing that more ships
than normal have sunk in the Bermuda Triangle region.
These facts thus prove that the Bermuda Triangle myth
is just that, a myth. (USGS)
Resources:
Texas A & M Geology Website
USGS Gas Hydrates
Goho, Alexandra. “Energy on Ice.” Science News. 6/25/2005, Vol. 167, Issue 26.
Bradner, Tim. “BP Works to Unlock Mystery of Hydrates. Alaska Journal of
Commerce (Anchorage, AK). 11/06/2005.
O’Driscoll, Cath. “Sea Power.” European Chemical News. 8/8/2005, Vol. 83,
Issue 2159.
“Ocean floor gas hydrates may solve energy and Bermuda Triangle riddles.”
Industry Insider. 09/2005.
Pierce, Julia. “Pipe Cleaner.” The Engineer. 06/2005. 13-26.
“Working Under Pressure.” The Engineer. 06/2005. 13-26.
“Gas Deposits are Frozen.” The Engineer. 04/2005. 11.