WSJ: New Type of Methane Hydrate Confirmed in Japan Sea

Japan has confirmed offshore reserves of methane hydrate–natural gas trapped in frozen deposits–in the Sea of Japan, the government said Thursday.

Methane hydrate exists in highly pressurized, low-temperature environments such as in underwater deposits and the Arctic. Japan, which lacks major reserves of oil or natural gas on land, has been spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year since 2001 on research into methane hydrate. It has already confirmed significant reserves on the Pacific Ocean side of the country and is developing ways to extract them.

The latest findings are in the Sea of Japan, on the opposite side of the country, and the reserves exist in shallow layers of the seabed. The Pacific side methane hydrate also lurks under the seabed but is found in sandy deposits, according to a report from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. A government official said it wasn’t possible yet to estimate the size of the reserves but more data are expected next year. MORE