On July 30, 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), as part of an international partnership, completed its long-term gas hydrate production testing in the Prudhoe Bay Unit on the Alaska North Slope. This is a critical milestone in the DOE’s Alaska gas hydrate research and development project, as the data provides insight into the resource potential and environmental impacts of gas hydrates in the region.

Gas hydrates are naturally occurring compounds of natural gas (mostly methane) and water that form at low temperatures and high pressures. Gas hydrates, a potential energy source of the future, are known to occur in large quantities on the North Slope of Alaska and in the shallow sediments of continental margins in the deep ocean around the world, including the Gulf of Mexico and off the southeast coast of Japan.

The Department of Energy’s long-term scientific production tests on gas hydrate-bearing sands on the Alaska North Slope were conducted in collaboration with the Japan Metals and Energy Safety Organization, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the US Geological Survey and ASRC Energy Services, a subsidiary of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation. The tests were conducted under a drilling agreement entered into between ASRC Energy Services and Hilcorp Alaska – on behalf of the Prudhoe Bay Working Interest Owners (Hilcorp North Slope, ExxonMobil Alaska, ConocoPhillips Alaska, Chevron USA) – and approved by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources.