Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, June 6 -- Researchers confirmed methane hydrates in the northern South China Sea, said Zhang Hongtao, deputy director of China Geological Survey Bureau.
One sample was drilled 183-201 m under the seabed, with the hydrate-containing sedimentary strata 18 m thick. The hydrate contained 99.7% methane.
A second sample was found 191-225 m under the seabed, with the hydrate-containing sedimentary strata 34 m thick. The hydrate contained 99.8% methane.
Earlier this year, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry reported a methane hydrate discovery of some 1.1 trillion cu m of estimated gas in place in a section of the Nankai Trough about 50 km off eastern Japan (Oil & Gas Journal Online, March 07, 2007).
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].