Country leads the way in combustible ice mining

BEIJING: China’s success in mining gas hydrate in the South China Sea is a breakthrough that could revolutionise the global energy industry, and prove more significant than the United States’ shale gas, experts said.

The gas hydrate, commonly known as combustible ice, is perhaps another 15 years away from commercial use, but its successful mining in China is a breakthrough nevertheless, said Lu Hailong, a professor at the Institute of Ocean Research.

Lu was the chief scientist for the first mining trial for gas hydrate.

According to Li Jinfa, deputy director of the China Geological Survey, the South China Sea has an estimated 80 billion metric tonnes of oil equivalent of gas hydrate reserves.

In all, there are 100 billion metric tonnes in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and in the South China and East China seas.

Combustible ice is formed under low temperature and high pressure in permafrost under the sea. One cubic metre of the hydrate can release about 160 cubic metres of gas, which would emit only half the amount of carbon dioxide produced by oil or coal.

No country has been able to produce it commercially due to tough conditions and pollution concerns.

“With ample experience accumulated, China has become the frontrunner in gas hydrate mining technology,” Lu said.