In a reported world first, Japan on Tuesday extracted natural gas from methane hydrate, considered a next-generation energy source, in the Pacific seabed off Aichi Prefecture, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.
"We started production of a certain amount of methane gas from around 9:30 a.m.," a ministry official said, noting that if the gas can be extracted without any problems for about two weeks in the ongoing trial, it will be a "major step" toward future commercial development of the resource.
Large concentrations of methane hydrate are believed to exist under the seabed around Japan. Last October, a research team from Meiji University discovered the substance under the seabed in the Sea of Okhotsk and in the Sea of Japan off Akita, Yamagata and Niigata prefectures. There is also a high possibility that it also exists under the seabed off Shimane Prefecture.