4. Unconventional gas resources

In this paragraph, methane hydrates are not taken into account in estimates of recoverable resources, as they are still at a very early stage of study of the resource itself and of production potential.

According to the National Energy Technology Laboratory (USA), there could be around 2,800,000 Gm ³ of gas in place, of which 97% to 99% is present in ocean sediments. Most of these hydrates are highly disseminated and/or poorly concentrated, and will never be commercially viable sources of gas. It is roughly estimated that 10% of this gas in place could be technically recoverable from highly concentrated deposits. Resource evaluation work is currently underway in India, Japan and South Korea.

Data on recoverable unconventional gas resources worldwide are disparate and incomplete. Only the USA...