# Methane hydrates: Overview

A giant fuel store locked in ice, barely touched

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

What this tile covers Methane locked in ice under the seafloor and permafrost; very large but barely tapped. Share of use 0% share of world energy supply (2024)

Share of world total energy supply, 2024 (latest year where noted). Denominator is the Energy Institute Statistical Review 2025 total of 592.2 EJ (physical energy content method). Flows EI omits (traditional biomass via WBA, solar and geothermal heat, food energy) are set against the same 592.2 EJ, so shares sum to slightly more than 100%. Only short production tests have been run; no commercial output. Source: [Current perspectives on gas hydrate resources (Boswell and Collett, Energy and Environmental Science 4)](https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2011/ee/c0ee00203h), Royal Society of Chemistry.

#### Key facts

| **Origin** | Fossil (ancient solar) |
|---|---|
| **Renewable** | No |

#### Included from the reference tables

- Methane hydrates

#### Also in Fossil stores
[Tc Thermal coal](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/thermal_coal/)[Kc Coking coal](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/coking_coal/)[Oil Crude oil](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/crude_oil/)[Gas Natural gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/)

Explore paths from here
 More on this tile in the tabs above: how energy resides, abundance, fluctuation in time, across the earth, impact on nature.

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_hydrates/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)