A major shipbuilding company in Tokyo has been working to commercialize natural gas hydrate, a chemically stable combination of water and natural gas in powdery form, hoping to make it more economical to transport and store.
The project by Mitsui Engineering & Shipping Co. is intended to create a new energy supply system consisting of production facilities, transportation systems, storage facilities and vaporization plants.
The Tokyo-based firm established its NGH project department in September 2001. Last December, the company completed construction of an experimental plant in Chiba Prefecture to produce natural gas hydrate -- the first of its kind in the world. The plant can produce 600 kg of NGH a day.