Whatever you do, don't flick that bic!
Seriously, I wonder why that stuff isn't being explored as at the very least a very cheap natual gas supply? It would be better to burn it rather than it allowed to go to waste bubbling up and being released naturaly into the atmosphere.
I can only guess that it's being saved for "discovery" at a later time once big oil has extracted all they can from oil.
However...you make a good point, it is just the next energy supply, bugger all those peak oil idiots.
"Seriously, I wonder why that stuff isn't being explored as at the very least a very cheap natual gas supply?"
It is. At some point on the cost curve of petroleum (equaling about $5 per gal for gasoline) methane hydrate and methane hydride start to look viable as an alternative fuel. There is a huge quantity available, but the research is not being pursued like E85, fuel cells, etc.