Summary Japan says it has successfully extracted natural gas from methane deposits under the sea.
TOKYO (AP) - The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed what it said was gas flaming from a pipe at the project in the Pacific Ocean near central Japan.
The breakthrough could be a step toward eventual commercial production, though the costs of extracting gas from the seabed are much higher than for other forms of production.
Methane hydrate is a form of methane gas frozen below the seabed or in permanently frozen ground. Japan earlier succeeded in producing such gas from permafrost in Canada in 2007-2008.
Resource-scarce Japan, which imports most of its energy, hopes to develop ways to produce natural gas from its own reserves.
