Economic Geology of Natural Gas Hydrate

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxi

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2. Introduction

   Pages 1-16

3. Why Gas Hydrate?

   Pages 17-44

4. Physical Chemical Characteristics of Natural Gas Hydrate

   • John P. Osegovic, Shelli R. Tatro, Sarah A. Holman

   Pages 45-104

5. Oceanic Gas Hydrate Character, Distribution, and Potential for Concentration

   Pages 105-130

6. Natural Gas Hydrate: A Diagenetic Economic Mineral Resource

   Pages 131-190

7. State of Development of Gas Hydrate as an Economic Resource

   Pages 191-206

8. Oceanic Gas Hydrate Localization, Exploration, and Extraction

   Pages 207-248

9. Gas Production from Unconfined Class 2 Oceanic Hydrate Accumulations

   • George J. Moridis, Michael Kowalsky

   Pages 249-266

10. Regulatory and Permitting Environment for Gas Hydrate

    • George Taft

    Pages 267-288

11. Conclusions and Summary

    Pages 289-296

12. Back Matter

    Pages 297-342

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This book is a companion to “Natural Gas Hydrate in Oceanic and Permafrost Environments” (Max, 2000, 2003), which is the first book on gas hydrate in this series. Although other gases can naturally form clathrate hydrates (referred to after as ‘hydrate’), we are concerned here only with hydrocarbon gases that form hydrates. The most important of these natural gases is methane. Whereas the first book is a general introduction to the subject of natural gas hydrate, this book focuses on the geology and geochemical controls of gas hydrate development and on gas extraction from naturally occurring hydrocarbon hydrates. This is the first broad treatment of gas hydrate as a natural resource within an economic geological framework. This book is written mainly to stand alone for brevity and to minimize duplication. Information in Max (2000; 2003) should also be consulted for completeness. Hydrate is a type of clathrate (Sloan, 1998) that is formed from a cage structure of water molecules in which gas molecules occupying void sites within the cages stabilize the structure through van der Waals or hydrogen bonding.

• Economic Geology
• continental slopes
• development
• energy
• gas hydrate
• marine sediment
• methane

• MDS Research & Hydrate Energy International, St. Petersburg, USA

  Michael D. Max

• Hydrate Energy International, Kenner, USA

  Arthur H. Johnson

• Geological Survey Emeritus and Hydrate Energy International, Woods Hole, USA

  William P. Dillon

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