Preliminary assessment of resources and economic potential of individual gas hydrate accumulations in the Gulf of Mexico continental slope

Some global estimates suggest that gas hydrates represent the largest reservoir of fossil fuel. However, only a few studies of the resource and economic potential of individual gas hydrate accumulations exist. Here we estimate the volume of hydrate-bound gas at GC (Green Canyon) blocks 184/185, GC 234/235, GB (Garden Banks) 388, MC (Mississippi Canyon) 798/842, GC 204, MC 852/853, and AT (Atwater Valley) 425/426 sites in the Gulf of Mexico at water depths ～500–2000 m. The structural accumulations may contain from 4.7×10⁸ to 1.3×10¹¹ m³ of gas at standard temperature and pressure. The resources in individual gas hydrate accumulations are comparable (by volume) with the reserves in very small to major conventional gas fields. Various geologic, technologic, and economic factors affect the economic potential of studied accumulations. The MC 852/853 appears to be characterized by the most favorable combination of these factors, and thus is suggested to have the highest economic potential. The economic potential of gas hydrate accumulations at GC 204, GB 388, and AT 425/426 sites is ranked as ‘average’. Gas hydrate accumulations at GC 234/235, GC 184/185, and MC 798/842 sites contain only small volumes of hydrate-bound gas, and likely have no economic potential. Future gas hydrate research should focus on the detailed study of large structural gas hydrate accumulations from which gas may be profitably recovered (e.g. the MC 852/853 site).