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The National Methane Hydrates R&D Program

Welcome to the information portal for the National Methane Hydrate R&D Program! Over the past eight years, research carried out under this program has resulted in significant advances in our understanding of methane hydrates, their role in nature, and their potential as a future energy resource. This success is largely due to an unprecedented level of cooperation between federal agencies, industry, national laboratories, and academic institutions.

For a quick introduction to hydrates, go directly to All About Hydrates. Information on other elements of the program can be found under the remaining Key Links. Read More.

 

Announcements

NETL Expands Methane Hydrates Program Portfolio
The DOE-NETL Methane Hydrate Program has expanded its portfolio of research and development projects with the addition of nine projects that focus on building a strong hydrate knowledge base, increasing understanding of methane hydrate’s environmental implications, and encouraging production efforts of this global storehouse of methane . By clarifying the role of hydrates in the natural environment and advancing methane hydrate as a potential energy source, the projects could help supply the United States with abundant, secure, and environmentally sound supplies of domestic natural gas far into the future.

USGS Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellowship Opportunity: Climate and Hydrates The USGS has released details of the Mendenhall postdoctoral fellowship competition for FY2010. Opportunity #4 seeks a recent Ph.D. in geology, oceanography, physics, or chemistry to work on research problems linking climate and methane hydrates.

Cooperative Hydrate Research Advanced by Three International Agreements Recent international agreements made by the U.S. aim to leverage findings of unique and key gas hydrate R&D efforts worldwide.

The Report to Congress on Methane Hydrates Research [PDF-external site] provides an assessment of the MH Research Program and an assessment of the 5-year Research Plan.

The Interagency Roadmap for Methane Hydrate R&D [PDF] outlines a plan of action to fully address the goals of the MH Research & Development Act of 2000.

 
 

Key LInks

 

Summer 2008 edition now available!
  In this issue...

  • Update on results of the Spring 2008 Mallik well test in Canada
  • Relationship between pore fluid profiles and methane flux
  • Update on seismic-scale rock physics of methane hydrates
  • "Spotlight on Research": Koji Yamamoto, Japan Oil, Gas & Metals National Corp.

Announcement Archive >

Continued from top of page
The National Methane Hydrate R&D Program, enabled by the Methane Hydrate Research and Development Act of 2000 and the subsequent 2005 amendment to this Act [PDF-28KB], is managed by DOE through the Office of Fossil Energy and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), and the program’s design is formulated through discussions among the six participating federal agencies and in consultation with advisory panels from industry and academia. The brochure, “Interagency Coordination on Methane Hydrates R&D” [PDF-8.24MB] , describes this unique federally funded, collaborative program that is designed to optimize hydrates research, avoid duplication and ensure that no important questions are left unanswered. A second document, an “Interagency Roadmap for Methane Hydrate R&D” [PDF] outlines the goals and objectives of the Program.

In addition to the work being carried out by individual researchers, the Program supports this website, the quarterly Fire in the Ice (FITI) newsletter (which highlights ongoing activities for more than 1000 readers worldwide), and a wide array of meetings and workshops that facilitate the broad and timely dissemination of hydrate research progress to the larger research community and the Nation.

 
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