The Methane Hydrate Advisory Committee

An Advisory Committee to the Secretary of Energy

CURRENT MEMBERSHIP Peter Brewer Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Moss Landing, CA Richard Charter National OCS Coalition Bodega Bay, CA David Goldberg Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory Columbia University Palisades, NY Arthur Johnson Hydrate Energy International Kenner, LA  Miriam Kastner Scripps Institute of Oceanography La Jolla, CA Stephen Masutani Hawaii Natural Energy Institute University of Hawaii Honolulu, HI Robert T. Miller ConocoPhillips Houston, TX Craig Shipp Shell International E&P Inc. Houston, TX Dendy Sloan Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO Robert Swenson Alaska Department of Natural Resources Fairbanks, AK Anne Trehu Oregon State University Corvallis, OR Jean Whelan Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute Woods Hole, MA Joseph Wilder University of Akron Akron, OH

The Methane Hydrate Advisory Committee was created in response to provisions of the Methane Hydrate Research and Development Act of 2000 [1.13MB PDF] and reauthorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

The Committee is to advise the Secretary of Energy on potential applications of methane hydrate; assist in developing recommendations and priorities for the methane hydrate research and development program; and submit to Congress one or more reports on an assessment of the research program and an assessment of the DOE 5-year research plan.

The Committee's charter stipulates that up to 15 members can be appointed by the Secretary of Energy, representing institutions of higher education, industrial enterprises and oceanographic institutions and state agencies.

The Committee meets approximately twice a year. The Energy Department's Office of Fossil Energy is responsible for providing financial and administrative support to the Committee.

Reports 

• Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes, April 2008.
• Report to Congress- Report of the Methane Hydrate Advisory Committee on An Assessment of the Methane Hydrate Research Program and An Assessment of the 5-Year Research Plan of the Department of Energy, June 2007   [787KB PDF]
• Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes, April 2007.
• Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes, November 2006.
• Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes, April 2006.
• Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes, June 2005.
• Fiscal Year 2004 Federal Advisory Committee Annual Report
• Letter to Secretary Spencer Abraham, November 2004
• Report to Congress- Report of the Methane Hydrate Advisory Committee on Methane Hydrate Issues and Opportunities Including Assessment of Uncertainty of the Impact of Methane Hydrate on Global Climate Change, December 2002  [1.19MB PDF]