HYDRATES OF NATURAL GAS: A REVIEW OF THEIR GEOLOGIC OCCURRENCE.

Abstract

Gas hydrates are a type of inclusion compound or clathrate formed as icelike mixtures of gas and water in which gas molecules are trapped within a framework or cage of water molecules. Large quantities of natural gas (mainly methane) can be trapped in sediments in the form of gas hydrates. The presence of gas hydrates in permafrost regions has been established at a number of wells. Geologic, geochemical, and geophysical evidence suggests that gas hydrates can exist in many areas beneath the seafloor. The main seismic evidence for submarine gas hydrates are reflectors that simulate the topography of the seafloor. If large quantities of gas hydrate are widespread in permafrost regions and in offshore marine sediments, they may be potential energy resources. Refs.