Central Energy Resources Science Center - Gas Hydrates Project Page
Gas hydrates are naturally occurring ice-like combinations of natural gas and water that have the potential to provide an immense resource of natural gas from the world's oceans and polar regions. Gas hydrates are known to be widespread in permafrost regions and beneath the sea in sediments of outer continental margins. It is generally accepted that the volume of natural gas contained in the world's gas hydrate accumulations greatly exceeds that of known gas reserves. There is also growing evidence that natural gas can be produced from gas hydrates with existing conventional oil and gas production technology. The USGS is participating in several international consortia of research, industry, and academic institutions. The USGS also has ongoing cooperative research efforts with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the State of Alaska, the Department of Energy, industry, and Native Alaskan corporations to further the understanding of gas the hydrate endowment and recoverability.
For a listing of our completed expeditions click here to visit the Related Science tab.
USGS Links
USGS Gas Hydrate Project
Woods Hole Science Center
USGS Scientists contribute to new gas hydrates monograph
External Links
DOE Methane Hydrate R&D Program
NETL Methane Hydrate Web Site
NETL Fire in the Ice Newsletter
Current Perspectives on Gas Hydrate Resources
Gas Hydrate and Climate Change
World Atlas of Submarine Gas Hydrates in Continental Margins | SpringerLink
Tasks and Field Reports
Results of the India National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 02
Assessment of Gas Hydrate Resources in the North Slope of Alaska, 2018
Alaska North Slope 2018 Hydrate 01 Stratigraphic Test Well
Marine Methane Hydrate Field Research Plan
Successful Test of Gas Hydrate Production Test Well Ignik Sikumi on Alaska's North Slope
Korean National Gas Hydrate Program, Second Ulleung Basin Gas Hydrate Drilling Expedition
The Mallik Research Consortium
AAPG Memoir 89: Natural Gas Hydrates
Gulf of Mexico Gas Hydrate Joint Industry Project
Assessment of Gas Hydrate Resources on the North Slope, Alaska, 2008
Results of the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 01
Below are news stories associated with this project.
Exploring Gas Hydrates as a Future Energy Source
In the past decade, the development of the Barnett, Eagle Ford, Marcellus, and other shales has dominated the national consciousness regarding natural gas. But in Alaska, another form of natural gas has been the focus of research for decades—methane hydrate.
- Overview
Central Energy Resources Science Center - Gas Hydrates Project Page
Gas hydrates are naturally occurring ice-like combinations of natural gas and water that have the potential to provide an immense resource of natural gas from the world's oceans and polar regions. Gas hydrates are known to be widespread in permafrost regions and beneath the sea in sediments of outer continental margins. It is generally accepted that the volume of natural gas contained in the world's gas hydrate accumulations greatly exceeds that of known gas reserves. There is also growing evidence that natural gas can be produced from gas hydrates with existing conventional oil and gas production technology. The USGS is participating in several international consortia of research, industry, and academic institutions. The USGS also has ongoing cooperative research efforts with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the State of Alaska, the Department of Energy, industry, and Native Alaskan corporations to further the understanding of gas the hydrate endowment and recoverability.
For a listing of our completed expeditions click here to visit the Related Science tab.
USGS Links
USGS Gas Hydrate Project
Woods Hole Science Center
USGS Scientists contribute to new gas hydrates monographExternal Links
DOE Methane Hydrate R&D Program
NETL Methane Hydrate Web Site
NETL Fire in the Ice Newsletter
Current Perspectives on Gas Hydrate Resources
Gas Hydrate and Climate Change
World Atlas of Submarine Gas Hydrates in Continental Margins | SpringerLink
- Science
Tasks and Field Reports
Filter Total Items: 13Results of the India National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 02
The Government of India, with the support of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), has released the initial results of the most comprehensive gas hydrate scientific drilling investigation ever undertaken. Coinciding with the release of the Journal of Marine and Petroleum Geology Special Issue on Marine Gas Hydrate Reservoir Systems Along the Eastern Continental Margin of India: Results of the...Assessment of Gas Hydrate Resources in the North Slope of Alaska, 2018
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has updated the previous 2008 assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable gas hydrate resources beneath the North Slope of Alaska. This new 2018 assessment again indicates the existence of technically recoverable gas hydrate resources―that is, resources that can be discovered, developed, and produced using current technology. Using a geology-based...Alaska North Slope 2018 Hydrate 01 Stratigraphic Test Well
The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are leading an effort to conduct an extended gas hydrate production test in northern Alaska.Marine Methane Hydrate Field Research Plan
In 2013, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), in partnership with the Consortium for Ocean Leadership (COL), initiated a new field-focused methane hydrate research planning effort that would inform, and potentially lead to, future off shore drilling field expeditions. The primary objective of this project was to conduct planning that would help define...Successful Test of Gas Hydrate Production Test Well Ignik Sikumi on Alaska's North Slope
On May 2, 2012 the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the completion of the field testing phase of the Ignik Sikumi gas hydrate production test well project on the North Slope of Alaska. The USGS participated in many phases of this work, including originally identifying the test site, which was based on almost 30 years of USGS geologic studies on gas hydrates in northern Alaska.Korean National Gas Hydrate Program, Second Ulleung Basin Gas Hydrate Drilling Expedition
As a part of Korean National Gas Hydrate Program, the Second Ulleung Basin Gas Hydrate Drilling Expedition (UBGH2) was successfully performed by using the D/V Fugro Synergy to establish 13 research drill sites in the period of time from July 8 to September 30, 2010. The first leg of this expedition focused on logging-while-drilling operations, while the second leg focused on both conventional and...The Mallik Research Consortium
The Mallik Research Consortium drilled three test wells in Canada’s Mackenzie Delta, and the results of this international cooperative effort, demonstrating the producibility of this energy resource, were published in 2005.AAPG Memoir 89: Natural Gas Hydrates
USGS Contribution to AAPG Memoir on Gas Hydrates: In the December of 2009, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) published a comprehensive treatise on the geology of gas hydrates which is entitled Natural Gas Hydrates – Energy Resource Potential and Associated Hazards.Gulf of Mexico Gas Hydrate Joint Industry Project
Gulf of Mexico Gas Hydrate Joint Industry Project Leg IIAssessment of Gas Hydrate Resources on the North Slope, Alaska, 2008
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed the first assessment of the undiscovered technically recoverable gas-hydrate resources on the North Slope of Alaska. Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the USGS estimates that there are about 85 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of undiscovered, technically recoverable gas resources within gas hydrates in northern Alaska. Read the full...Results of the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 01
In 2008 an international partnership led by the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (Government of India) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released the results of the most complex and comprehensive gas hydrate field venture yet conducted. Upon the occasion of the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program Gas Hydrate Conference held February 6-8... - Publications
- News
Below are news stories associated with this project.
Exploring Gas Hydrates as a Future Energy Source
In the past decade, the development of the Barnett, Eagle Ford, Marcellus, and other shales has dominated the national consciousness regarding natural gas. But in Alaska, another form of natural gas has been the focus of research for decades—methane hydrate.