gas hydrate - CCOP

MH21 RESEARCH CONSORTIUM
Organization and R&D schedules
The Research Consortium for Methane Hydrate Resources in Japan (MH21 Research
Consortium) has been established to carry out the R&D and Shoichi Tanaka, Professor
emeritus of Tokyo University, one of the leaders in the academic field of resources
development research in Japan, is the project leader. MH21 has been organized from three
main bodies as shown in Figure 2: these are the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National
Corporation (JOGMEC), the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and
Technology (AIST), and the Engineering Advancement Association of Japan (ENAA).
A Steering Committee has also established to manage the operation of three MH21
groups. These groups are the Research Group for Resources Assessment, the Research
Group for Production Method and Modeling, and the Research Group for Environment
Impact respectively, and JNOC, AIST and ENAA are responsible for the R&D in the
respective research areas. "Japan's Methane Hydrate Exploitation Program" is divided into
three phases, extending over 16 years. The tasks and the schedules in each phase are detailed
below
Figure 2. Implementation Scheme of the MH21 Research Consortium
Phase I (8 years: FY 2001-2008)
- Optimization of methane hydrates survey technologies.
- Identification of potential methane hydrate fields in sea areas and evaluation of resources.
- Selection of methane hydrate resource field for offshore production test in Phase II.
- Verification of dissociation and recovering technologies with on-shore production test.
New Energy Resources in the CCOP Region - Gas Hydrates and Coalbed Methane 89