Flammable Ice (Combustible Ice): Chinese Breakthrough Could Lead To Global Energy Revolution

[Han Patriot]

Guys, after going through CCTVs report, I now understand why this is such a big breakthrough. The Japanese and Canadian attempts were more like tests using drillships and they couldn't maintain the output pressure. This is the first time in the world where the well was drilled using a commercial oil rig and the production was able to be maintained stably.

if you guys can understand Chinese, watch this>

 

[Foo_Fighter]

Some people don't even realize that how important and radical breakthrough it is. This will definitely bring Energy Revolution to the world and centuries after Western Industrial Revolution, world will witness this game changer which might even surpass it's predecessor if China maintains the focus on it. Great Job China... The true future superpower.

 

[Han Patriot]

Some people don't even realize that how important and radical discovery it is. This will definitely bring Energy Revolution to the world and centuries after Western Industrial Revolution, world will witness this game changer which might even surpass it's predecessor if China maintains the focus on it. Great Job China... The true future superpower.

They used a new gas separation technology and it made sure the well didn't collapse, the Japanese well collapsed after just a few days. The Chinese government is considering this breakthrough as powerful as the shale gas revolution.

 

[Jlaw]

Guys, after going through CCTVs report, I now understand why this is such a big breakthrough. The Japanese and Canadian attempts were more like tests using drillships and they couldn't maintain the output pressure. This is the first time in the world where the well was drilled using a commercial oil rig and the production was able to be maintained stably.

if you guys can understand Chinese, watch this>

A certain American Peter C just post articles hoping to trick people. But im still waiting for my 1980s kitchen promised by america since 1950.

 

[onebyone]

A certain American Peter C just post articles hoping to trick people. But im still waiting for my 1980s kitchen promised by america since 1950.

 

[TaiShang]

Energy security in Northeast Asia, if achieved by China and Japan, may change regional geopolitics for better by freeing up the two countries from their chronic relying on SLOCs problem.

China's practical leadership in this industry may offer lots of machinery and services exports for the exploitation of resources around the globe.

 

[Clutch]

How much of it is there? How much of it in equivalent bbl of oil for comparison sakes?

 

[Shotgunner51]

China flammable ice breakthrough: Reality and prospects
Ronald Wan May 23, 2017 11:50am

A piece of rock sample from the seabed of the South China Sea where China successfully mined flammable ice and extracted gas from it continuously for more than seven days. Photo: China Daily

China is the first nation to achieve “continuous operation on a floating production platform”, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Since May 10 it has been bringing up the gas to the surface and lighting it up. The drilling has been going on for the past seven days and 19 hours, with daily output of the gas exceeding 10,000 cubic meters, according to the report.

The world’s total flammable ice reserve is estimated at 16.7 trillion tons of oil equivalent, more than double the combined reserves of traditional fossil fuel including coal, oil, natural gas and shale gas. China alone has over 100 billion tons of oil equivalent of flammable ice deposits, which can meet the nation’s energy demand for 200 years.

China has outlined a timetable for commercial production of flammable ice: focus on mining and technical preparations from 2008 to 2020, and start trial commercial production between 2021 and 2035. The recent breakthrough in continuously stable gas production could accelerate the process, expected to kick off commercial production before 2030. Experts estimate the eventual cost of flammable ice may drop to 10 US cents in the long run, which would make it even more economical than natural gas (14 US cents per cubic meter).

If China goes full blast on the new energy, state-owned oil majors are likely to be involved. Related equipment and service companies will also benefit. In fact, both China Oilfield Services Ltd. (02883.HK, 601888.CN) and Sinopec Oilfield Service Corp. (01033.HK, 100871.CN) posted sharp gains recently. Gas distributors like China Gas Holdings Ltd. (00384.HK) and China Resources Gas Group Ltd. (01193.HK) also stand to gain.

Read the full article at http://www.ejinsight.com/20170523-china-flammable-ice-breakthrough-reality-and-prospects/

 

[onebyone]

China extracts gas from largest global carbon energy source Methane Hydrates
brian wang | May 22, 2017 |

1



Methane hydrates, also called “flammable ice”, hold vast reserves of natural gas. China has for the first time extracted gas from the ice-like methane hydrate from under the South China Sea considered key to future global energy supply.

Many countries including the US and Japan are working on how to tap those reserves, but mining and extracting are extremely difficult.

It is believed that there is as much as 10 times the amount of gas in methane hydrates than in shale for instance.

The size of the oceanic methane clathrate reservoir is poorly known, and estimates of its size decreased by roughly an order of magnitude per decade since it was first recognized that clathrates could exist in the oceans during the 1960s and 1970.

Recent estimates constrained by direct sampling suggest the global inventory occupies between 1×10^15and 5×10^15 m³ (0.24 to 1.2 million cubic miles). This estimate, corresponding to 500–2500 gigatonnes carbon (Gt C), is smaller than the 5000 Gt C estimated for all other geo-organic fuel reserves but substantially larger than the ~230 Gt C estimated for other natural gas sources.

http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/0...al-carbon-energy-source-methane-hydrates.html

 

[Shotgunner51]

We May Have an Entirely New Source of Energy – “Flammable Ice”
Written By Author Dom Galeon Editor Kristin Houser May 24, 2017

China’s Digging

Since the industrialization of coal, the world has sourced much of its energy from fossil fuels. While the global energy landscape has started to change again over the past several years, with the introduction of more renewable and cleaner sources, fossil fuels are still the main source of much of today’s energy. However, it looks like China has now found a way to access a previously elusive source of energy.

Reports from China’s Ministry of Land and Resources claim that the country has successfully extracted methane hydrate — also known as “flammable ice” — from beneath the South China Sea, just 300 kilometers (186 miles) southeast of Hong Kong.

“We brought the gas to the surface and have lit it up since May 10. By now, the drill has been running continually for eight days,” project leader and deputy chief engineer at the China Geological Survey Ye Jianliang told the South China Morning Post. “The daily output [of gas] exceeds 10,000 cubic meters. The best day recorded 35,000 cubic meters.”

Not Clean Enough
Though methane hydrate is not a new discovery, researchers have had difficulty putting it to practical use. The substance is called “flammable ice” because it looks like ice, but it’s actually methane trapped inside water molecule lattices. Deposits of methane hydrate are usually found in areas with low temperatures and moderate pressure, such as the bottom of the ocean, making them difficult to access.

Despite this difficulty, the potential that the world’s methane hydrate deposits could exceed all other fossil fuels combined has led many to pursue the energy source. China has emerged as the latest to find success, but Japan has also successfully extracted methane hydrate, and the U.S. is currently working to do so.

However, despite natural gas being considered “cleaner” — producing 50 percent less carbon dioxide than coal — methane is still a fossil fuel. The climate hazard this energy source poses is still real, not to mention the potential harm it could do to the local undersea ecology if an extraction goes awry.

Nevertheless, it is a potentially abundant energy source, and if China can extract enough to make it viable for industrialization, we’ll find out just how helpful it could be in cutting emission levels.

https://futurism.com/we-may-have-an-entirely-new-source-of-energy-flammable-ice/

 

[Shotgunner51]

Blue Whale 2 to be completed soon
By ZHONG NAN and REN XIAOJIN | China Daily | Updated: 2017-05-26 07:30

Move is part of effort to enhance energy security and secure available resources

The construction of the ultra-deep-water semisubmersible drilling rig Blue Whale 2, which can mine both combustible ice and oil, will be completed in the second half of this year, according to its manufacturer.

China Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore Ltd (烟台中集来福士海洋工程有限公司; Founded by Singaporean Brian Chang in 1994, full subsidiary of CIMC since 2013), the producer of the Blue Whale 1, succeeded in collecting methane gas trapped in ice-like crystals beneath the surface of the South China Sea last week. It said the functions of the Blue Whale 2 will be slightly different from the first model in terms of flammable ice drilling.

Blue Wale 1, produced by China Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore Ltd​

Combustible ice, a particular kind of natural gas hydrate usually existing in seabed or tundra areas, is formed under strong pressure and low temperatures. It is regarded as a clean energy option with high energy density and huge reserves.

Eager to enhance energy security and secure more available resources, China will select another location in the South China Sea to test the drilling and production of combustible ice for the second time after three to five years. It hopes to undertake commercial mining by 2030, according to the Ministry of Land and Resources.

"The priority now is to lower production costs and environmental risks," said Lin Boqiang, head of the China Institute for Energy Policy Studies at Xiamen University.​

"The 118-meter-tall Blue Whale 1 oil exploration platform is able to reach the seabed 3,658 meters below the surface and dig a record-breaking 15,250 meters into the seabed," said Wang Jianzhong, president of CIMC Raffles.​

The Chinese government has set a target of developing deep-sea energy resource production, at depths of 1,500 to 3,000 meters using domestically developed technology during 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20). It will also enhance mine detection, drilling technology and equipment upgrading for natural gas hydrates and transportation.

"The frequent and fierce typhoons in the deep-water area of the South China Sea are the biggest obstacle to oil exploration. The uncertain temperature also adds to the difficulty in deep-sea drilling," said Yang Yongtao, project manager of CIMC-Raffles' drilling product department.​

He said therefore both oil rigs need to have a solid base to eliminate the risk in future operations. Otherwise it will be unable to stand firm, not to mention carry out oil drilling. Compared with other prototypes being used in the world, the Blue Whale series of products are 30 percent more efficient and 10 percent less energy consuming.

China found combustible ice in the South China Sea in 2007. The land reserves in Qinghai province were discovered in 2009.

http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2017-05/26/content_29504025.htm

 

[Indrajith]

Congrats - China , you are reaping the benefits of centralized planing .....World is looking for such sources of energy which can reduce emission and cost

 

[nature is]

Congrats - China , you are reaping the benefits of centralized planing .....World is looking for such sources of energy which can reduce emission and cost

China owes its achievement to centralizing planning, just like Cuba and Vietnam.

 

[JSCh]

China's combustible ice estimated at 80 bln tonnes
Xinhua | Updated: 2017-06-02 15:19

BEIJING -- China is estimated to have 80 billion tonnes of an oil equivalent known as "combustible ice," the Ministry of Land and Resources said Friday.

Li Jinfa, deputy director of the China Geological Survey under the ministry, made the statement at a press conference on China's first success in mining combustible ice at sea.

China announced its success on May 18 in collecting samples of combustible ice in the South China Sea after nearly two decades of research and exploration, a major breakthrough that may lead to a global energy revolution.

Combustible ice usually exists in seabed or tundra areas, which have the strong pressure and low temperature necessary for its stability. It is flammable like solid ethanol.

One cubic meter of combustible ice, a natural gas hydrate, is equal to 164 cubic meters of regular natural gas. International scientific circles have predicted that the natural gas hydrate is the best replacement for oil and natural gas.

"So far, trial mining of combustible ice in the Shenhu sea, about 320 kilometers southeast of Zhuhai city in Guangdong, has made smooth progress with an average of 8,350 cubic meters of gas with high purity extracted each day," Li said.​

He said China would accelerate the exploration of potential combustible ice reserves, launch trial mining of different types of combustible ice,and continue to strengthen marine science and technology innovation.

"In addition, China will make environment protection a top priority during the trial mining and strive to achieve green exploration and exploitation."​

 

[Shotgunner51]

China is estimated to have 80 billion tonnes of an oil equivalent

That's about 570 billion barrels of oil equivalent, very rich natural reserves, considering last year (2016) China crude oil consumption was about 4 billion barrels (largely imports).