Abstract
In order to increase the share of primary energy supplied by natural gas and to augment the supply of domestically produced natural gas, Japan became active in the R&D area of Methane Hydrate Resource in the mid-1990s. Under the leadership of the METI, the “Nankai Trough” METI Exploratory Test Well, the “Collaborative R&D Studies on Methane Hydrate” and the drilling experiment in the Mackenzie Delta were conducted. Based on the results of these efforts, the “Methane Hydrate Exploitation Program” was newly announced in 2001, with establishment of the “Research for Methane Hydrate Resources in Japan” project as a means of putting that program into force.The “Research for Methane Hydrate Resources in Japan” is being conducted by the “Research Consortium for Methane Hydrate Resources in Japan”an organization comprised of the Japan National Oil Corporation (JNOC), the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and the Engineering Advancement Association of Japan (ENAA) and the Japanese Industry. Under this arrangement, JNOC conducts resource assessment R& D, AIST advances production method R&D, and ENAA handles environmental impact assessment R&D.Since then, the first round of onshore production testing in the Mackenzie Delta, Canada was implemented as the joint international collaborative research in 2002.In the beginning of 2004, comprehensive drilling campaign is planned to clarify the accumulations of the resources in the Nankai Trough offshore Japan. The second onshore production testing in Alaska is also under planning.These undertakings have gradually clarified the issues in the area of drilling and completion technology that we should face and handle for further exploration and future development. Top-hole drilling technology in the deep water, horizontal well drilling and completion technology in the unconsolidated formation, offshore production testing methods specific to methane hydrate development are the issues to be investigated.
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