6 - Kuwait Oil Company

External Report
A World First:
Japan says it has extracted gas from offshore
deposits of methane hydrate - sometimes called
''flammable ice'' - a breakthrough that officials
say could be a step towards tapping a promising
but still little-understood energy source.
The gas, whose extraction from the undersea hydrate
reservoir is thought to be a world first, could provide
an alternative source of energy to known oil and gas
reserves. That could be crucial for Japan, which is
the world's biggest importer of liquefied natural gas
and is engaged in a public debate about whether
to resume its heavy reliance on nuclear power.
Japan
Extracts
Methane
Hydrate Gas
Experts estimate the carbon found in gas hydrates
worldwide totals at least twice the amount of
carbon in all of the earth's other fossil fuels, making
it a potential game-changer for energy-poor
countries such as Japan. Researchers had already
extracted gas from onshore methane hydrate
reservoirs but not from beneath the seabed.
Methane is a greenhouse gas, and the exact properties
of undersea hydrates and how they might affect
the environment are poorly understood. Japan has
invested hundreds of millions of dollars to explore
offshore methane hydrate reserves in the Pacific and
the Sea of Japan. That task has become all the more
pressing after the Fukushima nuclear crisis, which has
all but halted Japan's nuclear energy program and
caused a sharp increase in fossil fuel imports. Japan's
rising energy bill has weighed heavily on its economy,
helping to push it to a trade deficit and reducing the
benefits of a weaker yen to Japanese exporters.
Types of Methane Hydrate Deposits
38
April - June 2013