[kach22i]

June 24, 2017
Japan joining with US, India to tap undersea 'fire ice'

Methane hydrate contains methane gas and exists as ice-like crystals...........

Treasure waiting to be tapped

Some estimates suggest that more than 1 trillion cu. meters of methane hydrate, also known as fire ice or burning ice, lie on the eastern side of the Nankai Trough, a submarine formation that extends to the south of the two prefectures and the island of Shikoku. That volume contains enough natural gas to meet the entire country's demand for around a decade.

But no technology to enable stable extraction of the massive undersea methane hydrate deposits yet exists. The tests off the coast of the two prefectures have been marred by a series of troubles.