New method could unlock vast stores of methane by seabed gas extraction

Large concentrations of methane hydrate are believed to exist under the seabed around Japan. Last October, a research team from Meiji University discovered the substance under the seabed in the Sea of Okhotsk and in the Sea of Japan off Akita, Yamagata and Niigata prefectures. There is also a high possibility that it also exists under the seabed off Shimane Prefecture.Total deposits of methane hydrate around Japan are estimated to be sufficient to cover domestic consumption of natural gas for about 100 years, The Japan Times reports.
 

The substance consists of a combination of methane and water molecules. The high-pressure, low-temperature environment under the seabed causes water molecules to encase methane, giving it a texture like sherbet.
Chunks of methane hydrate have been likened to burning ice cubes, which easily combust when exposed to flame.

Methane hydrate holds large amounts of combustible methane. When 1 cu. meter of methane hydrate decomposes, it releases about 160 cu. meters of gas that can be burned to generate power.Methane hydrate can be only generated in a high-pressure, low-temperature environment. Since a temperature of about minus 80 degrees is needed for it to form, it is generally only found in permafrost or deep below the seabed.