AKAKA INTRODUCES METHANE HYDRATES BILL January 28, 1999 Washington, D.C. - United States Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D - Hawaii) introduced legislation to promote research and development of methane hydrates as an energy resource. The Methane Hydrate Research and Development Act of 1999 would establish a research and development program at the Department of Energy to assess and develop methane hydrates as an energy source. The legislation is identical to an Akaka-sponsored measure that passed the Senate in the 105th Congress. Senators Trent Lott (R-MS), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Bob Graham (D-FL), and Larry Craig (R-ID) are co-sponsors of the bill. Methane hydrates are rigid, ice-like solids of water surrounding a gas molecule. They remain solid at high pressure and low temperature. Such conditions are found in Arctic permafrost and in deep sea sediments. Methane hydrate has tremendous gas storage capacity: one volume of methane hydrate will expand to more than 160 volumes of methane under normal temperature and pressure conditions. Methane hydrates are stable at moderately high pressures and low temperatures and contain large quantities of methane. An enormous amount of methane is sequestered in gas hydrates. Worldwide estimates range from 100,000 trillion cubic feet to 270 million trillion cubic feet. Estimates on U.S. deposits are between 2,700 trillion to seven million trillion cubic feet. "We are only beginning to quantify and characterize methane hydrate resources. Our understanding of these deposits, their location, and their potential as a commercial resource is surprisingly limited," said Akaka. "Fundamental research on methane hydrates is urgently needed to develop our long-term energy supply, improve oil and gas extraction, and further the science of global climate change. "The U.S. is not doing enough to explore this exciting new energy source. Other nations have launched aggressive R&D programs to explore methane hydrates, and the United States will fall behind if Congress does not act soon. In the face of dwindling energy resources and increased reliance on energy imports, we can hardly afford to miss this important opportunity." Understanding and characterizing hydrate formation and breakdown is important for the safety of deep offshore drilling and other deep sea operations. The release of large quantities of methane from hydrate deposits, as well as changes in the natural sequestration of methane in hydrate form, could significantly affect global climate change. Significant, widespread quantities of gas hydrates have been detected, but not characterized, all over the world. In the United States, on-shore Arctic deposits are found in Alaska. Deep sea methane hydrate deposits are perhaps the most abundant source of methane, occurring at depths greater than 300 meters. Marine geologists have identified large deposits off the coasts of most of the U.S., including Alaska, Louisiana, Texas, New Jersey, Oregon, and North and South Carolina. The estimated amount of methane trapped in gas hydrate form worldwide is 10,000 gigatons--twice the amount of carbon found in all other fossil fuels on Earth. This represents close to 3,000 times the amount of methane present in the atmosphere. Scientists estimate that 320,000 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas exists in hydrate form in the U.S.--a staggering resource. By comparison, we have an estimated reserve of 1,300 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of conventional natural gas. The Akaka bill establishes a research and development program with the potential for major payback. It would direct the Department of Energy to conduct research and development in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey, National Science Foundation, and the Naval Research Laboratory. "The research program I propose will answer many profound questions about methane hydrates," Akaka noted. "The potential payback from this research far exceeds the dollars we invest."