Back during the Bush administration in October 2008, under the influence of their Texas oilmen buddies, the Department of Energy entered into a joint public-private partnership with ConocoPhillips and Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) to develop America's methane hydrate resources.  Recent success offers the prospect of increasing our energy reserves to previously unheard of levels. Globally and for the U.S., methane hydrates represent a potentially huge new source of the cleanest fossil fuel. A recent Minerals Management Service study estimated methane hydrate resources in the Gulf of Mexico at 21,000 trillion cubic feet (TCF), one hundred times the current U.S. proved reserves of natural gas. Hydrate accumulations off the Pacific and Atlantic coasts and on Alaska's North Slope (ANS) hold additional potential. Yet this potential will remain untapped unless a technically and economically viable means of producing methane from hydrates is found. [Emphasis...(Read Full Post)