Europe's growing energy demands could be met by reserves of methane gas hydrate off the west coast, according to US and Irish partners involved in a joint research project at NUI, Galway.
Providence Resources Plc, the Irish oil and gas exploration company, is working with the British-based Sosina Exploration Ltd, the US-based Hydrate Energy International (HEI) and scientists from NUI, Galway, to examine the potential for tapping the energy source within Ireland's exclusive economic limits.
Mr Art Johnson of HEI, who advises the US government on hydrate energy policy, maintains that the extensive nature and geology of Ireland's sea floor could yield significant reserves of the low-emission alternative fuel source. The solid crystalline substance occurs around continental margins, and can be converted into natural gas using depressurising/heat techniques.
It can then be converted to liquid form and shipped to markets. The calorific content of the low-emission fuel is equivalent to the total global reserves of oil, gas and coal, but scientists are aware that the risk of leaks during extraction has serious implication for global warming.
Providence recently acquired an interest in the Aje field off Nigeria, where a gas-to-liquids (GTL) procedure may form part of the development plan.
Mr Johnson, who is addressing a seminar on the research in Galway today, has spent a month working on technology transfer with the NUI Galway partners.
Development of methane hydrates is at an early stage internationally, with Japan, India, Canada and the US being leading players in the research, he points out.
Early indications from preliminary work undertaken by the Irish research team are "positive", according to Providence. "There may be significant future natural gas resources off the west coast of Ireland trapped in hydrate form," Mr O'Sullivan says.
Recent confirmation that the Integrated Ocean Drilling Programme (IODP) plans to drill three wells in the Porcupine Basin during May of this year is also "exciting", he says, as this area that may be prone to hydrate development.
