Methane Hydrates -Resources and environmental issues

The first discovery of gas hydrates dates back to the early 19th century, when physicist and chemist Humphrey Davy mixed water with chlorine to describe a solid compound above 0°C. This work was later continued by Michael Faraday. At the time, interest in these compounds was focused on fundamental research to identify their composition.

In the 1930s, during the boom in the US oil and gas industry, methane hydrates were detected as a potential blockage in gas pipelines. Research then turned to the study of hydrate formation and ways of avoiding them in pipelines. In recent years, methane hydrates, particularly those present underground, have once again been the subject of major studies in a wide variety of fields.

– The role of methane hydrates in climate cycles. During ice ages, methane is stored in the form of methane hydrates, which can be released into the atmosphere during interglacial periods. These studies focus not only on current global warming, but also on estimating the amount of methane stored in these hydrates over geological time.

– The importance of methane hydrates in destabilizing sedimentary slopes. The oil and gas industry is moving into ever deeper zones, requiring production and transportation facilities on the seabed. The massive presence of hydrates needs to be detected and analyzed in terms of geotechnical risk.

– Since the discovery of these hydrates in sediments in the early 1970s, they have always been of interest to natural gas explorers and producers, because of the considerable volume of methane they represent, even if current production techniques are complex and costly.