FROZEN HEAT | Volume 2
1.2 GLOBAL ENERGY RESOURCES AND GAS HYDRATES
Resource occurrences and potential for recovery are not ame- nable to an easy or simple quantification. Energy resource assessments typically include at least three interrelated com- ponents: geological knowledge, economics, and technology. Increases in geological knowledge and improvements in technology, motivated largely by increasing prices, have con- tributed to an increase in the fossil energy resource base. The additional resources include new fields discovered within al- ready-established resource elements, as well as entirely new resource elements (such as ultra-deep-water hydrocarbon re- sources and a variety of unconventional resources) that were previously unknown or considered non-recoverable. Gas hydrates resource potential by global regions
A number of terms related to resources and reserves have specific meaning in connection with hydrocarbons. The to- tal volume of a resource, often called the in-place resource, includes all hydrocarbons present within a given geologic unit or geographic area. The subset of in-place resources that is practically producible is often called the technically recoverable resource (TRR). Those technically recoverable resources that can be produced at a profit are economically recoverable resources (ERR). Economically recoverable re- sources that have been confirmed and quantified by hydro- carbon production are called reserves (see Text Box 1.1 for more detail).
Gas hydrates resource potential by global regions
Arctic Ocean
Former Soviet Union
Canada
United States
Arctic Ocean
Japan
Europe
Former Soviet Union China
Canada
North Africa
United States
Middle East
Other East Asia
Eastern Africa
India
Other Pacific Asia
Japan
Europe
Western and Central Africa
China Other South Asia
Resource potential Median tcm
North Africa
Middle East
Other East Asia
Oceania
Southern Africa
Eastern Africa
Latin America and the Caribbean
3 2 6
India
Other Paci c Asia
Western and Central Africa
Other South Asia
Southern Ocean
Resource potential Median tcf 0.1
Oceania
Southern Africa
Latin America and the Caribbean
196 100 50 5
Source: Johnson 2011
Southern Ocean
Figure 1.1: Gas hydrates resource potential by global regions. This figure includes only that subset of global in-place gas hydrates that appear to occur at high concentrations in sand-rich reservoirs, the most likely candidates for development. Source: Johnson 2011.
Source: Johnson 2011
FROZEN HEAT 12
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