Mining the Abyss Japan produces natural gas from potentially vast ocean-floor reserves

摘要

Potentially vast, untapped reserves of methane have inched closer to reaching the natural gas market, thanks to efforts by Japan to extract methane hydrates from the ocean floor. The government-owned Japan Oil, Gas, and Metals National Corp. (JOGMEC) conducted test production of natural gas from methane hydrates in early March. A test flow of 120,000 cubic meters was achieved over a period of six days. The gas was extracted from a layer of methane hydrates about 1,000 feet beneath the seabed in 3,000-foot waters some 50 miles off the Japanese coast.