Gas or methane hydrates are ice-like crystalline structures of water that form 'cages' that trap low molecular weight gas molecules, especially methane. Stable under a variety of temperatures and pressures, hydrates have been noted in many of the areas of the outer continental shelf including the Blake Escarpment in the Atlantic Ocean, Green Canyon in the Gulf of Mexico, and Prudhoe Bay of the Alaskan North Slope. Early research focused on the potential for hydrate areas to have unstable sediments that could be hazardous to drilling operations. Research to study deepwater benthos in the mid 1980’s discovered clams and worms that lived in chemosynthetic communities associated with gas and hydrothermal vents.

An MMS review "Oceanic Gas Hydrate Research and Activities Review" outlines the major issues surrounding gas hydrates and the role that MMS may play in research activities. The major issues can be divided into three categories: 1) Safety Hazards, 2) Energy Resource, and 3) Environmental." MMS is currently involved with studying hydrates from each of these perspectives to fulfill the responsibilities of the OCS Lands Act to develop marine energy and mineral resources in an environmentally sound manner.

The Center for Marine Resources and Environmental Technology (CMRET) at the University of Mississippi established the Gulf of Mexico Hydrates Research Consortium in 2001 to study gas hydrate mounds and active gaseous hydrocarbon vents in the Gulf of Mexico. Soon after, the Consortium began designing and constructing a permanent hydrates observatory in Mississippi Canyon Block MC-118, the only such facility in the world. It includes acoustic sensors that monitor seismicity and ambient noise, and geochemical and microbiological sensors to study fluid venting, hydrate formation and dissociation, and other environmental changes at the site. The observatory is jointly funded by MMS, DOE, and NOAA.

The MMS has funded several studies through the Technology Assessment and Research Program including participation to address the safety concerns for exploration and production. One joint industry project, Gulf of Mexico Gas Hydrates Joint Industry Project (JIP) Characterizing Natural Gas Hydrates in the Deep Water Gulf of Mexico, is collecting core samples from locations of known or suspected gas hydrates to develop technology and data to assist in the characterization of naturally occurring gas hydrates in the deep water Gulf of Mexico with the intent to provide for increased safety of operations.

The Center for Marine Resources and Environmental Technology (CMRET) at the University of Mississippi established the Gulf of Mexico Hydrates Research Consortium in 2001 to study gas hydrate mounds and active gaseous hydrocarbon vents in the Gulf of Mexico. The Consortium is composed of gas hydrate experts from most of the major Gulf Coast universities along with oceanographic institutes including Woods Hole and Scripps. One of the main purposes of the program is to better understand the relationships between gas hydrates and episodes of sediment instability that may pose a threat to the petroleum industry’s infrastructure and safety of operations.

The MMS is in the process of completing the first comprehensive assessment of gas hydrate on the OCS since a 1995 assessment published by USGS. The gas hydrate resource potential for all areas of the OCS is under evaluation with preliminary results for the Gulf of Mexico available.

Large chemosynthetic animals were unknown to science until 1977, when they were first discovered at hydrothermal vents in the Pacific Ocean. Two groups of researchers made the first discoveries of these creatures in the central Gulf of Mexico in November 1984. One group was part of the Northern Gulf of Mexico Continental Slope Study, funded by MMS from 1983 to 1988. While this research initially seemed unrelated to gas hydrates, subsequent research to learn more about these benthic creatures in 1997 discovered a new species of polychaete worm, known as "ice worms," that actually live on the outcrops of frozen methane hydrates that occur in deepwater areas of the Gulf of Mexico.