Washington (Platts)--29May2009

Gas hydrates -- a substance that scientists say could be a new source of
energy -- exist in the US Gulf of Mexico in quantities big enough that they
could possibly be used to produce gas using existing technology, the US
Geological Survey said Friday.

"Recent drilling...confirm[s] that the Gulf of Mexico is the first
offshore area in the United States with enough information to identify gas
hydrate energy resource targets with potential for gas production," the USGS
said in a statement.

The US Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory, in a
separate statement, called some of the areas explored "the most promising
marine gas hydrate accumulations in the world."

The 21-day drilling project showed that gas hydrates, which are made up
of natural gas and water, were found in saturations from 50% to more than 90%
in "high-quality sands," the NETL said.

US oil major Chevron managed the drilling project, along with the DOE,
USGS, the US Minerals Management Service and group of other US and
international energy industry companies.

"We have also found gas hydrate in a range of settings, including sand
reservoirs, thick sequences of fracture-filling gas hydrates in shales, and
potential partially saturated gas hydrates in younger systems," USGS scientist
Timothy Collett said. "These sites should provide a wealth of opportunities
for further study and data collection that should provide significant advances
in understanding the nature and development of gas hydrate systems."