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Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority

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Dr. Desa informed participants that a number of ideas have been<br />

discussed for the production and recovery of submarine methane hydrates.<br />

These are based on either converting the gas to a fuel, to thermally stimulate<br />

the hydrates and melt them, to depressurise it under the hydrate seal or by<br />

inhibitor injection using methanol. After production and recovery, Dr. Desa<br />

pointed out that the next task was transportation. The three ideas that are<br />

being discussed are:<br />

Through pipelines on the continental shelf<br />

By reducing methane to carbon monoxide and hydrogen and<br />

transporting these products, and<br />

Facilitating the reaction of methane with water on the seafloor to<br />

obtain hydrate free of sediment. The pure hydrate is then<br />

stored in zeppelin shaped storage tanks, towed to shallow<br />

water infrastructure, and safely decomposed into water and<br />

gas in a controlled environment.<br />

Dr. Desa mentioned that in addition to India, the United States of<br />

America, Japan, Canada, the European Union and Russia have all<br />

demonstrated a keen interest in the development of submarine methane<br />

hydrates. The significance of methane hydrates he stated is in their<br />

tremendous resource potential to meet the world’s energy needs. Dr. Desa<br />

stated that in a patent search of the United States, Japanese and European<br />

Patent Offices it was discovered that during 1998 and 1999, 400 patents had<br />

been issued indicating how people and organizations were positioning<br />

themselves for the commercialisation of submarine methane hydrates.<br />

15. A case study in the development of the Namibia offshore diamond<br />

mining industry<br />

Dr. Ian Corbett, Group Mineral Resources Manager of the De Beers<br />

Placer Resources Unit, South Africa, made two presentations. His first<br />

presentation was concerned with the development of the offshore diamond<br />

mining industry in Namibia. His second presentation was on the<br />

development of environmental baselines in a large-open ocean system off<br />

southern Namibia by De Beers Marine.<br />

INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY 55

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