Japan to drill for ‘burning ice’

Japan has announced plans to extract natural gas from seabed deposits of methane hydrate, known as ‘burning ice’.

In the first offshore experiment of its kind in the world, the tests are scheduled to take place in a stretch of ocean south-west of Tokyo, between the Shizuoka and Wakayama prefectures. This is expected to several weeks in the financial year to March 2013.

Reports in Japan’s Nikkei financial daily say that the country’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is preparing to request more than 10 billion yen – or $127.5 million – for the project.

Commercial drilling is planned to start early in the next decade, with the Japanese government supporting further research.

Although methane hydrate has previously been extracted on land in Canada in 2008 using Japanese technology, this new project will be the first to do so from the seabed.

Methane hydrate occurs in areas with high pressure and low temperatures, such as ocean floors. It is often found near continental fault-lines, where the gas crystallises when it comes into contact with cold seawater, hence the name ‘burning ice’.

Japan is eager to diversify its energy resources since the Fukushima Daiichi plant was knocked out by an earthquake and subsequent tsunami in March this year, causing the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 25 years.

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