There’s a whole lot of methane in them thar seafloor. But is it good as gold or fool’s gold
Remember when shale gas was the next big thing? The game changer that would revolutionize the energy world, providing Americans with an abundant source of clean, environmentally friendly fuel?
Shale gas, undoubtedly, has turned out to be a big thing. Natural gas production has been steadily climbing since 2006, and natural gas prices are so low that gas is displacing dirty coal as the fuel of choice in our power plants.
But, with concerns over water pollution and air pollution from the process of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) — and global warming impacts (conceivably as bad as or even worse than coal) from natural gas leakages from the extraction and piping of the fuel — the bona fides of shale gas as an environmentally friendly fuel has been pretty well tarnished.
Now a new source of natural gas threatens to take shale’s position as the ultimate energy game changer of our times: methane hydrates.
Methane Hydrates: A Veritable Gold Mine?
A methane hydrate is an ice-like cage of water molecules in which a molecule of methane is trapped. Methane hydrates form at low temperatures and high pressures like those found below water depths of about 500 meters off the coasts of continents, in seafloor sediments and in permafrost. (More here, here and here.)
And here’s the thing. Geologists estimate that there are enormous quantities of methane stored in the ocean bottom as hydrates. How much is enormous? Would about twice the amount of carbon that is found in all the other fossil fuels meet the enormous criteria? (See here, here and here.)
But having a huge resource of methane sitting on the ocean floor is one thing; being able to extract the stuff economically and bring it to the surface is another. Just look how long it took for the commercial shale gas boom to develop. Decades from the time the first well was fracked.
And as the Deepwater Horizon blowout and its ongoing ripple effects highlight, moving into new areas of energy extraction is no easy task and could be fraught with accidents waiting to happen. (An interesting aside: methane hydrates compounded the tricky business of trying to seal the Deepwater Horizon leak.)
So economics, technology and scientists’ relatively poor understanding of methane hydrates have seemingly conspired to keep the natural gas locked in these hydrates at bay … until just about now.
Move Over, Shale. Methane Hydrates’ Turn?
The Latest Bing News on:
Methane Hydrates
- Kick-starting ancient warmingon April 12, 2024 at 10:47 am
Sources including the release of methane during the intrusion of magma into organic-rich sedimentary rocks, carbon dioxide outgassing from lava flows, and dissociation of methane gas hydrates in ...
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- The mischievous methane moleculeon April 10, 2024 at 4:29 pm
At the global climate summit, the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28), held in Dubai in December last year, methane got a lot of attention. What is all the fuss about? Methane is a gas molecule ...
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Landfill trash is the third-largest source of human-caused methane pollution in the US. To fight global heating, curb waste An elusive climate menace is now easier than ever to see. In early March ...
- Scientists retrieve rare methane hydrate samples for climate and energy studyon April 8, 2024 at 8:15 pm
A scientific drilling mission in the Gulf of Mexico has returned with 44 cores from a methane hydrate reservoir deep under the seafloor. Globally, energy-rich methane hydrates hold an estimated 15 ...
- Heat-trapping carbon dioxide and methane levels in the air last year spiked to record highs againon April 7, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Scientists are also worried about the rapid rise in atmospheric levels of methane, a shorter-lived but more potent heat-trapping gas. Both jumped 5.5% over the past decade. The 2.8 parts per ...
- Column: South Texas can lead on methane reductionon March 28, 2024 at 10:44 pm
Relatedly, methane hydrate is a chemical compound that can be used as fuel more efficiently than pure methane and is made up of just methane and water, two highly abundant resources. Japan has ...
- Column: South Texas can lead on methane reductionon March 26, 2024 at 5:00 pm
In the wake of COP28 and Texas environmentalists calling for substantial environmental action, the energy industry in Texas is looking for realistic ways to produce the energy we need more ...
- Hydroelectricity is a hidden source of methane emissions. These people want to solve thaton March 26, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Dams provide massive quantities of power as water turns their turbine blades – but in the process, that water releases methane (Credit: Getty Images) Dams and reservoirs around the world are an ...
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The Latest Bing News on:
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WTI oil suffered a sell-off as traders reacted to the EIA report, which showed that crude inventories increased by 2.7 million barrels from the previous week. It looks that traders also worry about ...
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The price of natural gas in Europe has reached its highest level in over three months due to the conflicts in the Middle East. The benchmark TTF futures contract for delivery in a month's time rose to ...
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