Nansha site chosen for gas hydrate drive

Commercial production still far off as national lags in technological capacity: expert

A site in Nansha, the southern South China Sea, has been chosen as the research base for exploring natural gas hydrate, known as combustible ice, a move analysts said on Thursday marking a step forward for industrialization of the resources.

Scheduled to be completed in 2021, the center will have a research base, a drill storehouse and a deep water wharf. The drill core store will support the exploration of natural gas hydrates and deep sea oil and natural gas, local newspaper NanT

“International cooperation in producing combustible ice is unlikely, as developed countries like the US and Japan make every attempt to block true high-end technologies from China. We should rely on our own efforts.” Lin Qi Research assistant at the research center for Marine Science of National Institute for South China Sea Studies in South China’s Hainan Province

fang Daily reported Tuesday. It will also support the Belt and Road initiative as well as international cooperation on storing, processing, analyzing and studying the collected samples, according to the report. The hydrates, or combustible ice, offer a clean and efficient energy source that can reduce China’s reliance on traditional forms of energy while improving its enrce ergy and resource security, the Xinhua News Agency reported. It is mainly found in sediments deep beneath the sea or in permafrost areas. The pool off research talent at the Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey (GMGS) of the MLR, as well as the area’s geological advantages, make Nansha a sound choice, according to Lin Qi, a reat Marine Science of the the research National center Institute for for South China Sea Studies in South China’s Hainan Province. The GMGS has plentiful staff to reible search combustible ice, and precious natural ral gas hydrate samples taken in the South China Sea are stored at the GMGS. The construction of a deep water wharf will offer

a convenient place for scientific investigation equipment to dock,” Lin told the Global Times Thursday. The deposits of combustible ice in South China Sea are estimated at the equivalent of 80 billion tons of fossil fuel, which can support China’s energy needs for more than 100 years, Lin said.

“China is increasing production tests of natural gas hydrates. It is also continuing trials in the South China Sea’s Shenhu region to improve the related technology and build up experience for commercial mining,” he said.

In May 2017, China became the first country in the world to achieve the stable collection of maritime combustible ice.

However, this is still experimental technology, which means it doesn’t take into consideration the high costs, Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University in Fujian Province, told the Global Times Thursday.

“Commercial mining is still far away,” he said.

Lin, the research assistant, said that China must hasten its research into difficulties such as sand prevention for largescale commercial mining.

“Admittedly, China has achieved a crucial innovation in terms of the theory, technology and engineering equipment for the production tests of combustible ice. But it still lags behind the US and Japan in terms of its overall technological capability and equipment for deep water oil and gas field development,” Lin noted.

“International cooperation in producing combustible ice is unlikely, as developed countries like the US and Japan make every attempt to block true high-end technologies from China. We should rely on our own efforts,” said Lin.

For other countries that are involved in South China Sea issues, even if we carry out pragmatic maritime cooperation with them in the region, sensitive fields such as oil and gas will not be a priority, Lin, the research assistant, said.

Lin from Xiamen University said that “if massive commercial mining can be achieved in the next three to five years, combustible ice will be of great use.

“But if it takes 20 to 30 years, when energy storage or other technologies are likely to have matured, it may be unnecessary to mine combustible ice.”