Japan made landmark progress in 2013 in methane hydrate development -- carrying out the world's maiden offshore production test and later confirming the existence of "substantial" structures containing shallow methane in the Sea of Japan in the northwest of the country.
Ryo Minami, director of the Petroleum and Natural Gas division of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, hailed the offshore production test as a "very significant development" and said that Japan aimed to commercialize methane hydrate production in the next 10 years.
"For commercialization, we will need to enhance reliability and stability of technology [for methane hydrate production]," Minami said in a recent interview. "But we aim at commercializing it [methane hydrate production] in around 10 years."
After more than a decade of field research when it was testing various technologies and preparation, Japan produced a total of 120,000 cubic meters, or 20,000 cu m/day, of gas from methane hydrates at a six-day offshore production test in the Pacific Ocean in March.
The test was carried out at the Daini-Atsumi Knoll in the eastern Nankai Trough, 70-80 kilometers (43.4-49.6 miles) south of the Atsumi Peninsula in Aichi Prefecture.
Production from the test compares with 13,000 cu m, or 2,400 cu m/day, of gas produced during a five-and-a-half-day onshore output test carried out by Japan in Canada in 2008.
Following the March test, METI began analyzing the data collected but is yet to decide on how and where it will carry out its second offshore production test.
Nobuo Tanaka, former executive director of the International Energy Agency, has described the March offshore production test as "very meaningful."
Commercialization of methane hydrates would depend on various factors including oil and natural gas prices but Tanaka pointed out that there was certainly a vast amount of resources.
"For Japan, methane hydrate is certainly the promising hope of next generation unconventional gas," said Tanaka, now a special adviser and global associate for energy security and sustainability at the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan. The IEEJ is an affiliate of METI.
Japan has said that it aims to establish its technology based on latest results from the offshore production test by fiscal 2018-2019 (April-March). It is hopeful that this technology would eventually enable the commercialization of methane hydrates, which are solid, ice-like deposits of water and natural gas, located deep underwater where cold temperatures and extreme pressure causes the gas to condense and solidify.
Although there are a number of technical barriers to methane hydrate production, such as achieving sufficient flow rates to reduce output costs, known resources could be large enough to meet Japan's demand for about 10 years, based on its confirmation of 40 Tcf of methane hydrate resources in place in the southern Sea of Kumano in 2007.
SURVEYS CONFIRM SEVERAL STRUCTURES
Tokyo has also conducted a series of surveys this year which led to the confirmation of substantial structures containing shallow methane hydrates in the Sea of Japan.
"This is the very first year when the government started full-scale surveys on shallow methane hydrates," Minami said. "We are hopeful of further developments after recent discoveries of 225 gas chimney structures."
"We intend to get an understanding of the amount of resources and consider production technologies next year. Our ultimate goal is to commercialize shallow methane hydrates," Minami added.
Japan has confirmed discovery of 225 "gas chimney" structures offshore Joetsu, Niigata and offshore west of Noto Peninsula in the country's northwest.
Majority of these have a diameter of 200-500 meters, including a "large" one with a diameter of 900 meters in a June 8-July 20 survey, according to METI.
Following these latest surveys, METI intends to drill sample wells next summer, probably offshore Joetsu where it found the gas structures, to measure the depth of the methane hydrates, officials said.
Once it has completed its sample drilling, METI might be able to estimate reserves of shallow methane hydrates in the specific part of its surveyed region, they said.
METI also intends to run a similar series of surveys offshore Akita and Yamagata in the northwest as well as offshore Oki in western Japan, the officials added.
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
"Looking ahead, we intend to cooperate with the US and India [on methane hydrate development]," Minami said.
In October, METI Minister Toshimitsu Motegi asked visiting US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz during a meeting in Tokyo to move forward the two countries' bilateral agreement on methane hydrate cooperation.
Tokyo's request was made to move forward a state of intent, which METI and the US Department of Energy signed in 2008, to work together to develop methane hydrate production.
Motegi also agreed with India's Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia to move forward bilateral methane hydrate cooperation during the India-Japan Energy Dialogue in September in New Delhi.
In a joint statement following the meeting, the two countries confirmed that they would continue to cooperate in the study of Indian offshore geo-scientific data for delineation of gas hydrates. Tokyo also pledged to support India's efforts to set up a Gas Hydrates Research Centre.
