The Hindu : Promising potential for gas hydrates

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 15, 2004

Business

Business

Promising potential for gas hydrates

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, FEB. 12. Gas hydrates, which are cages of water molecules surrounding and trapping methane within them, is the energy source of future promising more potential than hydrocarbon sources.

While developed countries were going slow on exploiting the potential, as their energy security levels were comfortable, it was imperative for developing countries like India to move ahead faster as their requirement of fossil fuels was increasing rapidly.

With the indigenous supply of crude enough only to meet about 30 per cent of the demand, the country was becoming more import dependent.

This was the message sought to be conveyed by speakers at the inauguration of the Indo-Russian Science and Technology Centre for Gas Hydrate Studies at the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) here on Thursday.

Inaugurating it, the Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Bachi Singh Rawat, said, "It is being realised that gas hydrates have the potential of meeting the energy requirements for a long time to come."

Noting that even conservative estimates of the methane, in the sediments of Indian continental shelf, "necessitate a serious effort to develop them into realisable resources," the Minister said, "Russia has a lot to offer in this regard." Compared to the conventional gas reserves of 700 billion cubic meters, gas hydrates in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of India is estimated to be around 120 trillion cubic meters.

The Department of Ocean Development through its `gas hydrates' programme was studying various aspects, including exploration, estimation, sampling and the possible impact on the environment. The NIOT was coordinating the programme and the Russian collaboration for the centre would open up new vistas of research in the field.

The Secretary to the Department, Harsh K. Gupta, said using bottom simulating reflectors the Department had identified several locations around the coastline where gas hydrates are estimated to exist.

The NIOT Director, M. Ravindran, said gas hydrates "were highly valuable energy resources" and the Institute finalised a deal on Wednesday to procure a research vessel at Rs. 155 crores. To be delivered in two and a half years, the ship would be used in the gas hydrates programme.

The Secretary to the Department of Science and Technology, V. S. Ramamurthy, said the centre was the fifth in the series of initiatives under the integrated long-term (Indo-Russian) programme.

The upcoming proposals included establishment of an ayurvedic research centre in Moscow, seismic research centre in Delhi and for biomedical research in Thiruvanantha- puram.

F. A. Kuznetsov, Director, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, and Russian coordinator for the Indo-Russian Gas Hydrates programmes, said globally the estimated potential of gas hydrates was two times the estimated reserve of hydrocarbons.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Business

News Update

Stories in this Section

UPASI plea to Centre

LIC to launch Jeevan Saral

HMT to help Afghan SMEs

Forex reserves cross $106 b mark

Anchor group entering new areas

Promising potential for gas hydrates

West Bengal explores Chinese support for toys production

India, Tunisia sign MoU

Pantaloon calls off alliance with Arcus

AICAR's insurance course