A successful trial of combustible ice could change the energy landscape

Jiang Daming, the minister of Land and Resources, announced on May 18 that China has successfully mined muddy, silty and combustible ice in the world's waters.

After the "shale gas revolution" in the US transformed the global energy landscape, China has made a major breakthrough in the development of another energy resource. Jiang Daming, the minister of Land and Resources, announced on May 18 that China has successfully mined muddy, silty and combustible ice in the world's waters.

Jiang made the announcement at 10 am on Thursday from the Blue Whale No. 1 offshore drilling rig in the Shenhu area in the northern part of the South China Sea. At noon, Xinhua was authorized to release a congratulatory message from the CPC Central Committee and The State Council on the success of the Marine gas hydrate test. The message hailed the success as another landmark achievement of the Chinese people's brave climb to the top of the world's scientific and technological summit, which will have an important and far-reaching impact on the revolution in energy production and consumption.

Combustible ice, also known as natural gas hydrate, is distributed in deep-sea sediments or permafrost in continental regions. It is a crystalline substance formed by natural gas and water under high pressure and low temperature. It is named because it resembles ice and can be burned. When 1 cubic meter of combustible ice breaks down, it can release about 0.8 cubic meters of water and 164 cubic meters of natural gas, which is a high energy density and huge resource potential. Scientists estimate that the amount of its resources is equivalent to twice the total carbon of the world's known traditional fossil fuels, which can meet the human use of 1,000 years of new energy, and is the future choice to replace oil, coal and other traditional energy. China is one of the countries with the largest reserves of combustible ice resources, with about 70 billion tons of oil equivalent in the whole South China Sea.

Led by the China Geological Survey of the Ministry of Land and Resources, the pilot production is supported by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology, as well as the full cooperation of China National Petroleum Corporation and CIMC. The "Blue Whale No. 1" offshore drilling platform independently designed and built by CIMC is the semi-submersible drilling platform with the deepest operating depth in the world.

From May 10 to 17, gas was produced continuously for 8 days. Gas was extracted from combustible ice deposits 203-277 meters below the seabed in the depth of 1,266 meters in the Shenhu Sea area. The total amount of gas was 120,000 cubic meters in the trial production, with the highest output reaching 35,000 cubic meters/day and the average daily production exceeding 16,000 cubic meters, among which the methane content was up to 99.5%. Cumulative gas production exceeded 120,000 cubic meters. Natural gas production was stable and exceeded the target.

'The trial exploration has broken China's long history of trailing in the field of international energy exploration and development,' the China Geological Survey said on its website. 'It has achieved a historic leap from' trailing 'to' leading 'and will have an important impact on ensuring national energy security, promoting green development and building a strong maritime country.' "In theory, the exploitable metallogenic space inside the earth is distributed from the surface to 10,000 meters underground. At present, the depth of the world's advanced level of exploration and exploitation has reached 2,500 meters to 4,000 meters, while most of our country is less than 500 meters. To march to the deep earth is a strategic science and technology problem we must solve." This is seen as a clarion call for China to go deeper into the Earth.

China started its combustible ice research in 1995 and successfully obtained physical samples of combustible ice in May 2007, becoming the fourth country in the world to discover combustible ice through a national-level development program. In late 2010, researchers delineated 11 bodies of combustible ice in the Shenhu Sea off northern Hainan, China.

Before China's latest test, Japan had experimented with offshore combustible ice, but Japan's combustible ice reservoir is completely different from China's, with better permeability and easier access. The combustible ice in the Shenhu area of the South China Sea belongs to the muddy and silty type of combustible ice, which accounts for more than 90% of the world's resources. However, it is very difficult to exploit. The test exploitation in China is the first test for the development of silty and silt hydrate in the world, and it has been successful at one shot.

The China Geological Survey said it plans to conduct a second test in three to five years, based on the experience of the trial, to pave the way for commercial exploitation in the future. Li Jinfa, deputy director of the bureau, said in an interview with China Central Television today that he believes combustible ice with the greatest potential will be commercially exploited by 2030.