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Methane hydrate, or ‘flammable ice’, is a highly energy-intensive fuel source


Chinese authorities have described the success as a major breakthrough.



What is ‘flammable ice’?

The catchy phrase describes a frozen mixture of water and gas.




By lowering the pressure or raising the temperature, the hydrates break down into water and methane – a lot of methane. One cubic metre of the compound releases about 160 cubic metres of gas, making it a highly energy-intensive fuel.


Methane hydrates were discovered in Russia’s north in the 1960s, but research into how to extract gas from them from maritime sediment only began in the last 10 to 15 years.

As a country lacking any natural energy resources, Japan has been a pioneer in the field. Other leading countries are India or South Korea – who also don’t have their own oil reserves.


Why is it important?

Methane hydrates are thought to have the potential to be a revolutionary energy source that could be key to future energy needs – likely the world’s last great source of carbon-based fuel.


China describes its latest results as a breakthrough and Mr Linga agrees. “Compared with the results we have seen from Japanese research, the Chinese scientists have managed to extract much more gas in their efforts.”

“So in that sense it is indeed a major step towards making gas extraction from methane hydrates viable.”

It’s thought that there is as much as 10 times the amount of gas in methane hydrates than in shale for instance. “And that’s by conservative estimates,” says Prof Linga.

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China discovered flammable ice in the South China Sea in 2007.

Nestled between between China, Vietnam and the Philippines, the South China Sea has in recent years been an increasingly contentious issue, with Beijing claiming sole sovereignty over it – and hence rights to all natural reserves hidden under its surface.

What next?

While indeed a breakthrough, China’s success is still only one step on a long journey, Prof Linga explains.

“It is the first time that production rates actually seem promising,” he says. “But it’s thought that only by 2025 at the earliest we might be able to look at realistic commercial options.”





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