The bill passed in the Senate and hearings were held in the House before Congress adjourned. The measure is expected to be reintroduced. This report will track further legislative activity. Report Methane hydrate is a mixture of methane and water that is frozen into an ice. The crystalline structure of the frozen water molecules forms a cage-like lattice inside of which are trapped high concentrations of methane molecules.
Methane hydrates can form at temperatures above the freezing point of water.
In the Arctic where the near-surface temperature is low, methane hydrates form in the permafrost and can form a seal for gas seeping toward the surface. The thickness of the hydrate zone is determined by the geothermal gradient, or how fast the Earth warms with depth. Combined information from Arctic gas-hydrate studies shows that, in permafrost regions, gas hydrates may exist at subsurface depths ranging from about 130 meters to 2,000 meters. Direct evidence for gas hydrates on the North Slope of Alaska comes from cores and petroleum industry well logs, which suggest the presence of numerous gas hydrate layers in the area of the Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk River oil fields. Currently, there is no commercial development of methane hydrates with the possible exception of the Messoyakha gas field on the eastern margin of the West Siberian basin, in which some increased gas pressure since conventional production first began may be attributed to dissociation of surrounding hydrates.