Methane Hydrates

Since passage of the Methane Hydrate Research and Development Act of 2000, the DOE has been leading a coordinated Methane Hydrate R&D Program that includes collaboration with other federal agencies, universities, industry, and international partners. The goal of the Program is to advance scientific knowledge of gas hydrates as they occur in nature, such that their resource potential, production strategies, and role in the environment can be more fully understood.

What Is Methane Hydrate?

Methane hydrate is a naturally occurring substance, called a clathrate, in which a host lattice of ice encloses guest molecules of natural gas, predominantly methane. It forms under high-pressure and low-temperature conditions, typically in association with arctic permafrost and in sediments located beneath deepwater ocean basins, especially along continental margins. Methane hydrate accumulations in the U.S. represent a potentially large source of natural gas to help meet the nation’s future energy needs.

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NETL’s current Methane Hydrate R&D Program integrates field, laboratory, and modeling studies to confirm the nature and quantity of the resource; and to develop and test technologies for its safe production. The Program balances research conducted onsite at NETL with extramural projects that bring together industry, academia, other U.S. government entities, and international partners. Through this collaborative, integrated approach, NETL is working to advance the Nation toward utilization of the vast energy stored in methane hydrates.

Specific, ongoing research pathways include:

• Demonstrating gas hydrate exploration and production technologies in the Gulf of Mexico and on the North Slope of Alaska.
• Improving resource characterization for onshore and offshore hydrate accumulations.
• Collaborating with international partners to improve production modeling capabilities.
• Building laboratory capabilities for testing hydrate samples under in-situ conditions.
• Taking an active role in international drilling, sampling, and production testing expeditions.
• Providing international outreach and communication through the Fire in the Ice newsletter.
• Investing in the future of hydrate research through the National Academies of Science (NAS)/NETL Methane Hydrate Fellowship Program.

Popular Methane Hydrate Program Links

• Learn more about Methane Hydrate R&D Program Highlights 2000-2020.
• Find a full list of active projects in the Methane Hydrate R&D Program.
• Learn about Alaska North Slope: Establishing a long-term production test site.
• Learn about Gulf of Mexico: Methane Hydrate Resource Characterization.
• Learn about Gulf of Mexico: Establishing reliable prospecting, drilling, and sampling approaches.
• Read the Fire in the Ice Methane Hydrate Newsletter
• Read about the NAS/NETL Methane Hydrate Fellowship Program.
• View the Methane Hydrate Program’s 2019 Science and Technology Accomplishments posters.

Additional Methane Hydrate Program Links

• Read Methane Hydrate Science and Technology: A 2017 update.
• View presentations from the 2017 International Conference on Gas Hydrates.
• Read about the 2017 Gulf of Mexico Drilling and Coring Expedition.
• Read UNEP’s 2015 Frozen Heat: A global outlook on methane gas hydrates.
• Review the 2013 Interagency Roadmap for Methane Hydrate R&D.
• Read about the 2012 Ignik Sikumi gas hydrate field trial.
• Read about the 2010 International Gas Hydrate Code Comparison Study.
• View results of the 2009 Gulf of Mexico JIP-Leg II.
• View results of the 2005 Gulf of Mexico JIP-Leg I.
• View results from the 2007 Alaska Mt. Elbert Well.
• View the Methane Hydrate Program Bibliography.