Gas Production in South China Sea

China has successfully produced natural gas from methane hydrate, also known as "flammable ice", in an experimental project in South China Sea, its land and resources ministry said on Saturday. A drilling platform deployed off the coast of the southeastern Chinese city of Zhuhai for 60 days produced 309,000 cubic meters of natural gas, a record extraction volume from gas hydrate, the Ministry of Land and Resources said in a notice, Reuters reported. "After nearly 20 years of unremitting efforts, China has achieved theoretical, technological, engineering and equipment innovations and has made a historical breakthrough," the ministry said. Flammable ice consists of methane trapped within water crystals and has been identified as a potential new gas source for China, with the South China Sea thought to contain some of the world's most promising deposits. The government has promised to "actively develop" natural gas hydrate over the 2016-20 five-year plan period.