Geo-scientific investigations of Gas-hydrates in India

Abstract

The best solution to meet India's overwhelming energy requirement is to tap the nuclear and solar power to the maximum extent possible. Another feasible major energy resource is gas-hydrates (crystalline substances of methane and water) that have been identified by various geo-scientific methods along the Indian continental margin and later discovered by drilling and coring. The bathymetry, seafloor temperature, total organic carbon (TOC), sediment thickness, rate of sedimentation, geothermal gradient, and geological, geophysical and microbiological studies indicate that shallow sediments in deep water regions are good hosts for gas-hydrates (Sain and Gupta, 2008, 2012). First, we have prepared the gas-hydrates stability thickness map along the Indian margin, which provides the spatial and depth windows for the identification of gas-hydrates, and developed several geo-scientific methods for the qualification and quantification of gas-hydrates. We have delineated the most prospective zones of gas-hydrates in the Krishna-Godavari, Mahanadi and Andaman basins. The proxies for gas-hydrates have been recognized in the Kerala-Konkan and Saurashtra basins. The Kerala-Laccadive and Cauvery basins have also been found prospective for gas-hydrates by studying into various physical parameters. We have evaluated the resource potential of gas-hydrates to boost the development of viable production technology. Approximately, 1900 trillion cubic meter of methane has been prognosticated (Collett el ai, 2008) within the vast exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of India. This volume of gas is more than 1500 times of India's present natural gas reserve, and only 10% can meet India's burgeoning energy requirement for about a century. A brief description of all these is made in this article.