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
US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
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
Below are publications associated with this project.
Reservoir controls on the occurrence and production of gas hydrates in nature
Seismic investigation of gas hydrates in the Gulf of Mexico: 2013 multi-component and high-resolution 2D acquisition at GC955 and WR313
National Assessment of Oil and Gas Project: geologic assessment of undiscovered gas hydrate resources on the North Slope, Alaska
Dispersion analysis of passive surface-wave noise generated during hydraulic-fracturing operations
New seismic data acquired over known gas hydrate occurrences in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico: Fire In the ice
Scientific results of the Second Gas Hydrate Drilling Expedition in the Ulleung Basin (UBGH2)
Scale-dependent gas hydrate saturation estimates in sand reservoirs in the Ulleung Basin, East Sea of Korea
Characterization of gas hydrate reservoirs by integration of core and log data in the Ulleung Basin, East Sea
Characteristics and interpretation of fracture-filled gas hydrate: an example from the Ulleung Basin, East Sea of Korea
Comparison of methods for predicting shear-wave velocities of unconsolidated shallow sediments in the Gulf of Mexico
Brookian sequence well log correlation sections and occurrence of gas hydrates, north-central North Slope, Alaska
Historical methane hydrate project review
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.
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
US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
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
Below are publications associated with this project.
Reservoir controls on the occurrence and production of gas hydrates in nature
Seismic investigation of gas hydrates in the Gulf of Mexico: 2013 multi-component and high-resolution 2D acquisition at GC955 and WR313
National Assessment of Oil and Gas Project: geologic assessment of undiscovered gas hydrate resources on the North Slope, Alaska
Dispersion analysis of passive surface-wave noise generated during hydraulic-fracturing operations
New seismic data acquired over known gas hydrate occurrences in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico: Fire In the ice
Scientific results of the Second Gas Hydrate Drilling Expedition in the Ulleung Basin (UBGH2)
Scale-dependent gas hydrate saturation estimates in sand reservoirs in the Ulleung Basin, East Sea of Korea
Characterization of gas hydrate reservoirs by integration of core and log data in the Ulleung Basin, East Sea
Characteristics and interpretation of fracture-filled gas hydrate: an example from the Ulleung Basin, East Sea of Korea
Comparison of methods for predicting shear-wave velocities of unconsolidated shallow sediments in the Gulf of Mexico
Brookian sequence well log correlation sections and occurrence of gas hydrates, north-central North Slope, Alaska
Historical methane hydrate project review
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.