China successfully extracts gas from "flammable ice"

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China has successfully produced natural gas from methane hydrate, also known as "flammable ice", in an experimental gas hydrate extraction project in the South China Sea, the Ministry of Land and Resources announced on Saturday.

Natural gas hydrates are ice-like structures in which gas, most often methane, is trapped inside water molecules. They are highly flammable, a property that makes the crystalline structures both an attractive future energy source and a potential hazard.

China first extracted natural gas hydrate for the first time in May this year from mines in the Shenhu area of the South China Sea.

As of July 9, the drilling platform "Blue Whale I" had extracted a record volume 309,000 cubic meters of natural gas or 5,151 cubic meters per day.

According to the China Geological Survey (CGS), under the Land and Resources Ministry, the extraction marks the world’s longest period of continuous gas production and marks a breakthrough in stable gas flow and environmental safety.

During the operation, the CGS collected 6.47 million scientific experimental samples, which are set to contribute to future studies.

According to Ye Jianliang, director of the Guangzhou Ocean Geological Survey, the “historical breakthrough” came after nearly 20 years of efforts that led to China to achieve “theoretical, technological, engineering and equipment innovations."

The CGS concluded the experimental project in Shenhu area, some 320 kilometers to the southeast of Zhuhai, a city in southern China's Guangdong Province.

The drilling platform "Blue Whale I" will soon return to Yantai Harbor in eastern China's Shandong Province.

China's first gas hydrate extraction successful