Methane hydrates are clathrates (crystalline solids whose building blocks consist of a gas molecule that stabilizes and is surrounded by a cage of water molecules) where methane is the guest molecule. Methane hydrates are stable and occur naturally in continental margin and permafrost sediment. At standard temperature and pressure (STP), one volume of saturated methane hydrates contains approximately 180 volumes of methane. Current estimates suggest that at least twice as much organic carbon is contained in methane hydrates as all other forms of fossil fuels combined. The methane-hydrate deposits along the coast and in permafrost areas of the United States contain an estimated 320,000 tcf (9000 tcm) of methane. To tap into this vast resource, research is needed to understand the fundamental physical properties of hydrates.

This chapter is an introduction to the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) hydrate facilities and capabilities. The NETL Methane Hydrate Research Group conducts research in four key areas: modeling, computation, thermodynamic properties, and kinetic properties. Our modeling focuses on flow simulation in reservoirs. Computational research models hydrate formation and dissociation. Thermodynamic properties research focuses on measurements of both synthetic and naturally occurring hydrates. Kinetic properties research measures the kinetic properties of methane hydrates (both synthetic and naturally occurring), including the physical properties of hydrates synthesized in one of the many view cells at NETL that range in volume from 1 mL to 15 L.