Gas Hydrates

The Council of Canadian Academies was asked by the federal Minister of Natural Resources to assess the challenges for an acceptable operational extraction of gas hydrates in Canada in terms of: economic impact, social acceptability, and accessibility? As a result, the Expert Panel on Gas Hydrates was appointed by the Council to address the question and provide an account of the science and technology relevant to the safe extraction and use of gas hydrates in Canada.

Assessment Question

What are the challenges for an acceptable operational extraction of gas hydrates in Canada?

The findings of the expert panel’s report were released on July 7th, 2008 at the International Conference on Gas Hydrates in Vancouver B.C.

Energy From Gas Hydrates: Assessing the Opportunities and Challenges for Canada (3 mb)

Report in Focus  (210 kb)

News Release   (95 kb)

THE EXPERT PANEL ON GAS HYDRATES

The expert panel, chaired by John Grace (FRSC, FCAE), held its first meeting on May 8 and 9, 2007 to discuss the question with the sponsoring department (Natural Resources Canada); to agree on an outline for the assessment report; and to coordinate research and writing tasks. The question addressed by the panel is as follows: “What are the challenges for an acceptable operational extraction of gas hydrates in Canada in terms of: economic impact, social acceptability, and accessibility?”

John Grace, Chair
(FRSC, FCAE)

Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering and Canada Research Chair in Clean Energy Processes, University of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC)

Timothy Collett

Research Geologist, Geologic Division, U.S. Geological Survey (Denver, CO)

Frederick Colwell

Professor, College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University (Corvallis, OR)

Mehran Pooladi-Darvish

Professor, Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary, and Senior Technical Advisor, Fekete Assocaiates Inc. (Calgary, AB)

Peter Englezos

Professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC)

Emrys Jones

Senior Consulting Engineer, Chevron (Richmond, CA)

Robert Mansell

Senior Fellow, Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy, and Professor of Economics, University of Calgary (Calgary, AB)

J. Peter Meekison

Adjunct Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Victoria (Victoria, BC) and University Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science, University of Alberta (Edmonton, AB)

Rosemary Ommer

Director, Institute for Coastal and Oceans Research (ICOR), University of Victoria (Victoria, BC)

Michael Riedel

Associate Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, McGill University (Montreal, QC)

John Ripmeester (FRSC)

Principal Research Officer, Materials Structure and Function Group, National Research Council Canada (Ottawa, ON)

Craig Shipp

Team Leader, Geohazards Assessment and Pore Pressure Prediction Team, Shell International Exploration and Production Inc. (Houston, TX)

Eleanor Willoughby

Research Associate, Marine Geophysics Group, Department of Physics, University of Toronto (Toronto, ON)

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PUBLIC CALL FOR EVIDENCE (Download PDF)

The Expert Panel on Gas Hydrates arranged for a Public call for Evidence on the nature of the scientific, environmental, economic and social considerations potentially arising from the exploration and development of gas hydrates in Canada. Responses were received until December 15, 2007. For further details on the Public Call for Evidence, please download the PDF.