Ice that can fire a national energy revolution

Many say methane hydrate, found under sediments on sea and ocean floors, is the energy of the future because it can generate 10 times more energy than coal and hardly causes any pollution when burned. That's why China's recent success in the drilling methane hydrate in the Shenhu area of the South China Sea is viewed as significant.

The drilling success, thanks to technological breakthroughs, lays a foundation for further improvement of the technologies used. But there is still a long way to go before China can put methane hydrate, or fire ice as it is known, to commercial use. For instance, it has to reduce the cost of extraction, build a smooth network to transport the extracted methane hydrate, and take strict measures to ensure the process does not harm the environment.

That may take a while, but once fire ice is put to commercial use, it will have a huge impact on China and the world. For example, it will help keep energy prices low, and reduce the importance of oil and oil exporting countries.