Figure 13: Potential Gas Hydrate reserves of India

India has some of the biggest methane hydrate reserves in the world. These are tentatively estimated at 1,890 trillion cubic metres. An Indo-US scientific joint venture in 2006 explored four areas: the Kerala-Konkan basin, the Krishna-Godavari basin, the Mahanadi basin and the seas off the Andaman Islands (figure 13). The deposits in the Krishna Godavari basin turned out to be among the richest and biggest in the world. The Andamans yielded the thickest-ever deposits 600 metres below the seabed in volcanic ash sediments.