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Natural gas is an important source of clean, efficient energy.
Methane also exists in ice-like formations called hydrates. Hydrates trap methane molecules inside a cage of frozen water. Hydrates are found on or under seabeds and under permafrost. The amount of methane trapped in hydrates is largely unknown, but it is very large. A number of scientists believe that hydrates contain more than twice as much energy as all the world's coal, oil, and natural gas combined.