Methane Hydrates in Russia and Europe

Marchetti, C. (2005). Methane Hydrates in Russia and Europe. IIASA Interim Report. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: IR-05-004

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Abstract

The oil and gas industry did thrive for more than a century on oil and gas resources present in a simple state, compressed gas for methane and a liquid for oil.

Actually gas and oil can appear in more complex form, in particular methane that can react with water and CO2, producing stable solid compounds under certain conditions.

The stability is an asset from the point of view of holding methane in reserves that are not tight and do not require the complex geological conditions necessary for the formation of stable gas fields.

In fact, the reserves of solid methane appear to be immense and located in a great variety of geographical contexts. In the view of Thomas Gold's theory of the mineral origin of methane that is generated from a degassing of the earth mantle, this form of storage should be prevalent due to the looser conditions for holding methane in place.

In our study we limit the analysis to Eurasia where the methane in place appears to be present in extraordinary quantities. Efficient methods of extraction are, however, still to be developed.

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