‘Plenty of gas 7km down'

Press, 25 November 1980, Page 12

‘Plenty of gas 7km down'

By KEN COATES in London Far from being short of energy, the world has huge, untapped reserves of gas 7km below the surface. This remarkable theory has been advanced in London by an American professor from Cornell Uni--versity, Thomas Gold, who told industrialists and leading financiers he could. ..foresee a good energy future for hundreds of years. . ? The essence of Professor Gold’s theory is that there are huge reservoirs jof pure high pressure gas,

probably methane, trapped under the Earth’s surface well within -the reach of; modern ’ drilling ‘tech-' nology.Unlike orthodox petroleum geologists, Professor Gold argues that there are natural gases inherent in the ' Earth’s Structure, which date back to its creation, and which owe nothing to biological matter. 7 r--’ ''■ He says methane from these rich sources, .hundreds of miles down in the Earth’s crust is constantly forcing its way to ' the surface through fault :

lines and volcanic activity. . It is this gas which' is the source of most of the Earth’s carbon, and probably also is responsible for' enriching the world’s major oil and gas fields, according to Professor' Gold. ’ . c For evidence, he points to the fact that the handful of huge oilfields — in the' Middle East, Mexico, and Alaska — all lie near major fault lines. In the United.... States, deep drilling has shown a remarkable gas strike sue- . cess rate of 60 per cent. For SUSSO million Pro--1 fessor Gold is prepared to ‘

drill 10 deep wells to prove his theories, and he says that amount is only a drop in' the bucket by modern energy standards. He says drilling - below existing - coalfields would be a’good pldce to start. . Oil company geologists - are reported, naturally, to be sceptical of the theory. The evidence, they point opt, is still skimpy and ambiguous. _ . ; . But Professor Gold s response, to thakis: ;These people are unlikely to turn round and say we have checked with the evidence • 'and w'e were wrong.”