ABSTRACT
The gas hydrates are unstable compounds in which the water molecules form a sort of cage or lattice around the methane molecules, and the two establish weak chemical bonds with one another. Methane from methane hydrates must be released in situ due to the inherent instability of hydrate molecules. In 1995, the US Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a study to assess the quantity of natural gas hydrate resources in the United States and found that the estimated quantity exceeded known conventional domestic gas resources. The USGS estimates that methane hydrates may contain more carbon than world’s coal, oil, and conventional natural gas combined. Naturally occurring methane gas clathrates contain an enormous amount of strategic energy reserve. In offshore hydrocarbon drilling and production operations, gas hydrates can cause major and potentially hazardous flow assurance problems.
