Investigations of Gas Hydrate as a Non Conventional Source of Fuel - Their Resource Potential and Perspectives of Their Exploration

ABSTARCT: There are a lot of geophysical and and non-conventional material science engineering related researches in recent years in the field of deepwater drilling and the hermetic recovery of longer cores of bottom sediment. Gas-hydrates are the crystalline form in which gases (mainly methane) are trapped within a framework of hydrogen bonded water molecules (Kvenvolden, 1998). They form at elevated pressure and moderately cooled temperature, and occur worldwide in two distinct regions of permafrost and outer continental margins (Sloan, 1990). Natural gas hydrates occur worldwide in Polar Regions normally associated with onshore and offshore permafrost, and in sediment of outer continental margins. It is further observed that total amount of methane present in gas hydrates nearly doubles both the nonrecoverable and recoverable fossil fuels. Also the Gas-hydrates can also be obtained from the actual and inferred distribution of gas hydrate in the marine sediments. Numerous finds of GH presence in sediments were discovered at water depths ranging from 500 to 5500m. Gas hydrate distribution has been found to occur in different regions of the World Ocean basins including India. In this present paper investigation of the gas hydrate geology, their accumulations and methods which should be preferred for the detection of gas hydrate accumulations has been discussed.