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 publications associated with this project.
Alaska North Slope terrestrial gas hydrate systems: Insights from scientific drilling
Northern Cascadia Margin gas hydrates — Regional geophysical surveying, IODP drilling leg 311, and cabled observatory monitoring
A review of the exploration, discovery, and characterization of highly concentrated gas hydrate accumulations in coarse-grained reservoir systems along the Eastern Continental Margin of India
Assessment of undiscovered gas hydrate resources in the North Slope of Alaska, 2018
Downhole log evidence for the coexistence of structure II gas hydrate and free gas below the bottom simulating reflector in the South China Sea
Gas hydrate in nature
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Gas Hydrates Project
High-resolution seismic characterization of the gas and gas hydrate system at Green Canyon 955, Gulf of Mexico, USA
Observed correlation between the depth to base and top of gas hydrate occurrence from review of global drilling data
The Iġnik Sikumi Field Experiment, Alaska North Slope: Design, operations, and implications for CO2−CH4 exchange in gas hydrate reservoirs
Evaluation of gas production potential from gas hydrate deposits in National Petroleum Reserve Alaska using numerical simulations
Gas-hydrate-bearing sand reservoir systems in the offshore of India: Results of the India National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 02
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
Below are publications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 42Alaska North Slope terrestrial gas hydrate systems: Insights from scientific drilling
A wealth of information has been accumulated regarding the occurrence of gas hydrates in nature, leading to significant advancements in our understanding of the geologic controls on their occurrence in both the terrestrial and marine settings of the Arctic. Gas hydrate accumulations discovered in the Alaska North Slope have been the focus of several important geoscience and production testing reseAuthorsTimothy S. Collett, Ray M. Boswell, Margarita V. ZyrianovaNorthern Cascadia Margin gas hydrates — Regional geophysical surveying, IODP drilling leg 311, and cabled observatory monitoring
This article reviews extensive geophysical survey data, ocean drilling results and long-term seafloor monitoring that constrain the distribution and concentration of gas hydrates within the accretionary prism of the northern Cascadia subduction margin, located offshore Vancouver Island in Canada. Seismic surveys and geologic studies conducted since the 1980s have mapped the bottom simulating refleAuthorsMichael Riedel, Timothy S. Collett, Martin Scherwath, John W. Pohlman, Roy Hyndman, George SpenceA review of the exploration, discovery, and characterization of highly concentrated gas hydrate accumulations in coarse-grained reservoir systems along the Eastern Continental Margin of India
The analysis of 3-D seismic data has become one of the most powerful ways to identify sand-rich gas hydrate reservoir systems and to directly identify highly concentrated gas hydrate prospects. Scientific drilling programs have shown that the occurrence of highly concentrated gas hydrate accumulations in coarse-grained, sand-rich, reservoir systems has a significant impact on the physical propertiAuthorsTimothy S. Collett, Krishan Chopra, Ashutosh Bhardwaj, Ray Boswell, William F. Waite, A. K. Misra, Pushpendra KumarAssessment of undiscovered gas hydrate resources in the North Slope of Alaska, 2018
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of about 54 trillion cubic feet of gas resources within gas hydrates in the North Slope of Alaska.AuthorsTimothy S. Collett, Kristen A. Lewis, Margarita V. Zyrianova, Seth S. Haines, Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Michael E. Brownfield, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Kristen R. Marra, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Janet K. Pitman, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Cheryl A. Woodall, David W. HouseknechtDownhole log evidence for the coexistence of structure II gas hydrate and free gas below the bottom simulating reflector in the South China Sea
Stratigraphic layered pore-filling gas hydrates are identified above the bottom simulating reflector (BSR) using the well log and core data acquired at Sites W11 and W17 during the third gas hydrate drilling expedition conducted by China's Geological Survey/Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey (GMGS3) in the South China Sea. A seismic profile near Site W17, reveal the presence of two BSRs (i.e., douAuthorsJin Qian, Xiujuan Wang, Timothy S. Collett, Yiqun Guo, Dongju Kang, Jiapeng JinGas hydrate in nature
Gas hydrate is a naturally occurring, ice-like substance that forms when water and gas combine under high pressure and at moderate temperatures. Methane is the most common gas present in gas hydrate, although other gases may also be included in hydrate structures, particularly in areas close to conventional oil and gas reservoirs. Gas hydrate is widespread in ocean-bottom sediments at water depthsAuthorsCarolyn D. RuppelThe U.S. Geological Survey’s Gas Hydrates Project
The Gas Hydrates Project at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) focuses on the study of methane hydrates in natural environments. The project is a collaboration between the USGS Energy Resources and the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Programs and works closely with other U.S. Federal agencies, some State governments, outside research organizations, and international partners. The USGS studies the fAuthorsCarolyn D. RuppelHigh-resolution seismic characterization of the gas and gas hydrate system at Green Canyon 955, Gulf of Mexico, USA
The Pliocene and Pleistocene sediments at lease block Green Canyon 955 (GC955) in the Gulf of Mexico include sand-rich strata with high saturations of gas hydrate; these gas hydrate accumulations and the associated geology have been characterized over the past decade using conventional industry three-dimensional (3D) seismic data and dedicated logging-while-drilling (LWD) borehole data. To improveAuthorsSeth S. Haines, Patrick E. Hart, Timothy S. Collett, William Shedd, Matthew Frye, Paul Weimer, Ray BoswellObserved correlation between the depth to base and top of gas hydrate occurrence from review of global drilling data
A global inventory of data from gas hydrate drilling expeditions is used to develop relationships between the base of structure I gas hydrate stability, top of gas hydrate occurrence, sulfate-methane transition depth, pressure (water depth), and geothermal gradients. The motivation of this study is to provide first-order estimates of the top of gas hydrate occurrence and associated thickness of thAuthorsMichael Riedel, Timothy S. CollettThe Iġnik Sikumi Field Experiment, Alaska North Slope: Design, operations, and implications for CO2−CH4 exchange in gas hydrate reservoirs
The Iġnik Sikumi Gas Hydrate Exchange Field Experiment was conducted by ConocoPhillips in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation, and the U.S. Geological Survey within the Prudhoe Bay Unit on the Alaska North Slope during 2011 and 2012. The primary goals of the program were to (1) determine the feasibility of gas injection into hydrate-beAuthorsRay Boswell, David Schoderbek, Timothy S. Collett, Satoshi Ohtsuki, Mark White, Brian J. AndersonEvaluation of gas production potential from gas hydrate deposits in National Petroleum Reserve Alaska using numerical simulations
An evaluation of the gas production potential of Sunlight Peak gas hydrate accumulation in the eastern portion of the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska (NPRA) of Alaska North Slope (ANS) is conducted using numerical simulations, as part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) gas hydrate Life Cycle Assessment program. A field scale reservoir model for Sunlight Peak is developed using Advanced ProcessAuthorsManish S. Nandanwar, Brian J. Anderson, Taiwo Ajayi, Timothy S. Collett, Margarita V. ZyrianovaGas-hydrate-bearing sand reservoir systems in the offshore of India: Results of the India National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 02
The India National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 02 (NGHP-02) was conducted from 3-March-2015 to 28-July-2015 off the eastern coast of India using the deepwater drilling vessel Chikyu. The primary goal of this expedition was to explore for highly saturated gas hydrate occurrences in sand reservoirs that would become targets for future production tests. The first two months of the expedition wereAuthorsP. Kumar, Timothy S. Collett, K. Vishwanath, K.M. Shukla, J. Nagalingam, M.V. Lall, Y Yamada, P. Schultheiss, M. Holland - 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.