Irag, I'll Scratch Your Back...

Zoran Cirjakovic

Science

Gas Maker

Before last week, gas hydrate's claim to fame was that it was highly mysterious--and highly flammable. But after meeting last week to discuss a drilling project conducted in a hydrate-rich area of northern Canada, scientists announced that they can now produce natural gas from hydrate.

So what is this mystery substance? Hydrate is formed when gas is trapped in a lattice structure of frozen water molecules. The scientists were able to release controlled volumes of methane by carefully reducing the pressure and temperature in the deposit, separating the gas and water. Buried beneath marine and permafrost areas of the globe are massive deposits of hydrate. If one could tap even a fraction, resource-poor countries like Japan could become energy self-sufficient and the world would have another clean-burning fuel. While the story of hydrate has hinged on a giant "if," the substance is now officially a viable source for natural gas.

Of course, there are still ifs. For one, experts argue that other global hydrate deposits might not be as easily exploited as the site in northern Canada. But even though it won't be powering gas ranges any time soon, says David Victor, director of Stanford University's Program on Energy and Sustainable Development, hydrate's importance as a source of gas has suddenly become a very real possibility. And that's a whole lot better than that big if.