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ABSTRACT Gas hydrate accumulations in continental shelf sediments are considered a promising resource for future gas supply by several non-COST countries (e.g. USA, Japan, China, India, South Korea, and Taiwan). In 2013, the Research Consortium for Methane Hydrate Resources in Japan (MH21) produced gas during a successful offshore field test. In Europe, as elsewhere, demand for natural gas is continuously increasing. This COST Action is designed to integrate the expertise of a large number of European research groups and industrial players to promote the development of multidisciplinary knowledge on the potential of gas hydrates as an economically feasible and environmentally sound energy resource. In particular, MIGRATE aims to determine the European potential inventory of exploitable gas hydrates, to assess current technologies for their production, and to evaluate the associated risks. National efforts will be coordinated through Working Groups focusing on 1) resource assessment, 2) exploration, production, and monitoring technologies, 3) environmental challenges, 4) integration, public perception, and dissemination. Study areas will span the European continental margins, including the Black Sea, the Nordic Seas, the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
INTRODUCTION Gas hydrates accumulating in continental margin sediments are considered as promising energy resource. Numerous countries around the world (e.g. Japan, South Korea, USA, China, Taiwan, India, New Zealand) are investing in hydrate R & D to explore their coasts and national waters, constrain the resource potential, and develop technologies for gas production from gas hydrates. Several production tests conducted both onshore and offshore have proven that gas can be produced from these unconventional natural gas reservoirs.
Natural gas from indigenous gas hydrate deposits should play an important role in the future European energy system. It could i) enhance the security of energy supply, ii) contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions by replacing coal, and iii) complement renewable energies and stabilize the power grid by proving electricity during low-wind and/or low-light periods. Ultimately, gas hydrates could replace Europe's conventional gas reserves that will be depleted within the next decades and mitigate the growing dependence of Europe on natural gas imports.
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