Sets a 10-year S&T program that will allow for commercial prod. of methane from hydrates by 2015 & will addresses environmental & safety issues. It will: define a vast, domestic resource in permafrost regions & surrounding waters; enable the U.S. to meet a natural gas growth in power generation & transport. in the 21st cent., while meeting require. for cleaner fuels & reduced emissions of CO2; ensure our energy security; foster U.S. industry global competitiveness; & enhance the value of Fed. lands that provide 37% of the nation's gas prod.; & focus on: global carbon cycle, resource characterization, production, safety & seafloor stability.

Methane hydrate is a natural form of clathrate - a chemical substance in which one molecule forms a lattice around a "guest" molecule with chemical bonding. In this clathrate, the guest molecule is methane and the lattice is formed by water to form an ice-like solid. Methane hydrate has become the focus of international attention because of the vast potential for human use worldwide. If methane can be produced from hydrate, a reasonable assumption given that there are no obvious technical or engineering roadblocks to commercial production, the nation's natural gas energy supply could be extended for many years to come. This report reviews the Department of Energy's (DOE) Methane Hydrate Research and Development Program, the project selection process, and projects funded to date. It makes recommendations on how the DOE program could be improved. Key recommendations include focusing DOE program emphasis and research in 7 priority areas; incorporating greater scientific oversight in the selection, initiation, monitoring, and assessment of major projects funded by the DOE; strengthening DOE's contribution to education and training through funding of fellowships, and providing project applicants with a set of instructions and guidelines outlining requirements for timely and full disclosure of project results and consequences of noncompliance.

Natural gas, composed mostly of methane, is the cleanest of all the fossil fuels, emitting 25-50% less carbon dioxide than either oil or coal for each unit of energy produced. In recent years, natural gas supplied approximately 20-25% of all energy consumed in the United States. Methane hydrate is a potentially enormous and as yet untapped source of methane. The Department of Energy's Methane Hydrate Research and Development Program has been tasked since 2000 to implement and coordinate a national methane hydrate research effort to stimulate the development of knowledge and technology necessary for commercial production of methane from methane hydrate in a safe and environmentally responsible way. Realizing the Energy Potential of Methane Hydrate for the United States evaluates the program's research projects and management processes since its congressional re-authorization in 2005, and presents recommendations for its future research and development initiatives.

In March 2013, Japanese researchers announced a breakthrough in the extraction of natural gas from methane hydrates. This marked the latest important development in the quest for energy from methane hydrate, known as the ice that burns. This book presents a comprehensive collection of up-to-date publications about this vital new resource, covering all aspects of the field, including the possible effects of hydrate gas production on climate change. Contents include: Energy Resource Potential of Methane Hydrate; Methane Hydrate Program Report to Congress - October 2012; Interagency Coordination on Methane Hydrates R&D: Demonstrating the Power of Working Together; 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; Report to Congress - An Assessment of the Methane Hydrate Research Program and An Assessment of the 5-Year Research Plan of the Department of Energy Prepared by the Federal Methane Hydrate Advisory Committee - June 2007; An Interagency Roadmap for Methane Hydrate Research and Development; Methane Hydrates R&D Program. Methane hydrate is a cage-like lattice of ice inside of which are trapped molecules of methane, the chief constituent of natural gas. If methane hydrate is either warmed or depressurized, it will revert back to water and natural gas. When brought to the earth's surface, one cubic meter of gas hydrate releases 164 cubic meters of natural gas. Hydrate deposits may be several hundred meters thick and generally occur in two types of settings: under Arctic permafrost, and beneath the ocean floor. Methane that forms hydrate can be both biogenic, created by biological activity in sediments, and thermogenic, created by geological processes deeper within the earth. While global estimates vary considerably, the energy content of methane occurring in hydrate form is immense, possibly exceeding the combined energy content of all other known fossil fuels. The U.S. Department of Energy methane hydrate program aims to develop the tools and technologies to allow environmentally safe methane production from arctic and domestic offshore hydrates. The program includes R&D in: Production Feasibility: Methane hydrates occur in large quantities beneath the permafrost and offshore, on and below the seafloor. DOE R&D is focused on determining the potential and environmental implications of production of natural gas from hydrates. Research and Modeling: DOE is studying innovative ways to predict the location and concentration of subsurface methane hydrate before drilling. DOE is also conducting studies to understand the physical properties of gas hydrate-bearing strata and to model this understanding at reservoir scale to predict future behavior and production. Climate Change: DOE is studying the role of methane hydrate formation and dissociation in the global carbon cycle. Another aspect of this research is incorporating GH science into climate models to understand the relationship between global warming and methane hydrates.