From Breaking Energy:
Methane hydrates are getting increased attention as a major new source of clean hydrocarbon energy. These enormous deposits of natural gas have never been developed commercially, but research and development has been promising, and expectations are that the gas could begin coming to market within a decade.
Known as flammable ice, methane hydrates are molecules of gas contained in an ice matrix found in permafrost regions of the arctic and on the seafloor at continental margins below 500 meters of depth. Methane hydrates are subject to research both around their role in the global carbon cycle as well as potential commercial development as an energy resource. Hydrates form along the continental margins at low temperatures and high pressures and are distributed around the world, many countries have significant resources of them.
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