# Methane hydrates

Methane locked in ice under the seafloor and permafrost; very large but barely tapped.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_hydrates/

Natural sources · Fossil stores · No. 15

- Natural sources
- Origin: Fossil (ancient solar)
- Renewable: No
 Natural sources · Fossil stores · Foundation · Energy

Ice that burns: methane hydrate crams about 164 times its own volume of gas into frozen cages under the seabed.

Chart: Illustration: Methane hydrates

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Under cold and pressure, water freezes into cages around methane, holding about 164 times its own volume of gas in seabed and permafrost sediments.

##### Three things to know

1. Only about 1% of hydrate is tied to Arctic permafrost, though those deposits are the easiest to test.
2. A 1995 US study put about 9,000 tcm of gas in US territory alone, more than today's global estimate of about 3,300 tcm.
3. India's NGHP-01 expedition drilled 21 sites, 15 of them in the Krishna-Godavari basin.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Cold and pressure**Stable under seas deeper than 300-500 m
2. 2 **Ice cages**Water molecules trap methane inside
3. 3 **Test wells**Short trials off Japan and China
4. 4 **Gas**Best run gave 28,700 m3 a day
 Covered in [Oil, gas and coal: how they form, are found, moved and pricedEnergy](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/energy/oil-gas-coal/)

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## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_hydrates/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_hydrates/correlation/index.md)
- [How energy resides](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_hydrates/resides/index.md)
- [Abundance](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_hydrates/abundance/index.md)
- [Fluctuation in time](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_hydrates/time/index.md)
- [Across the Earth](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_hydrates/geography/index.md)
- [Impact on nature](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_hydrates/nature/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_hydrates/links/index.md)