Seabed gas mining gas restarts www3.nhk.or.jp
Japanese researchers have restarted extracting "methane hydrate" from the seabed and will continue until late this month. The test mining was put on hold in mid-May.
Japan has large amounts of natural gas locked in ice deep under its seabed. Government officials have been trying to tap it as a domestic energy source.
Researchers at the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy succeeded in extracting natural gas from methane hydrate earlier last month. It was taken from deposits below the seabed off the pacific coast of central Japan.
But the officials temporarily halted the test mining on May 15th after huge amounts of sand clogged the pipes bringing up the gas.
They took steps to keep sand from entering the pipes, and resumed the work. If the trial extraction is successful it could lead to the development of mining technology.
Published Date:2017-06-07