China has become the first country to exploit Natural Gas Hydrate (NGH, or Gas Hydrate) resources at sea, and the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council sent a message of congratulation to the country's team in the South China Sea, it was reported last Thursday.
根据上周四的报道，中国成为了首个在海洋开采天然气水合物资源的国家，党中央国务院给在南海的团队发来了贺信。
According to the official website of the China Geological Survey (CGS) under the Ministry of Land and Resources, China has successfully exploited NGH in the South China Sea's Shenhu sea area.根据国土资源部地质调查局官方网站，中国已在南海神狐海域成功开采了天然气水合物。They have been able to exploit NGH for seven consecutive days, proving that China is able to stably collect NGH, the CGS said.地质调查局表示，他们已经能够连续七天开采可燃冰，这证明中国有能力稳定地采集可燃冰。The mining location is at a depth of 1,266 meters, about 285 kilometers southeast of Hong Kong, China Central Television (CCTV) reported.据中国中央电视台报道，开采地的深度达到了1269米，位于香港西南258千米处。The CPC Central Committee and the State Council sent messages of congratulation to all staff and scientists related to the mission and said that this is a significant scientific achievement for humanity, CCTV reported.
央视报道称，中共中央国务院向与该任务相关的全体员工和科学家致以了贺信，并表示这是一项对人类有重大意义的科学成就。NGH is commonly known as "combustible ice" as it looks like ice and burns easily, and it is mainly found in deep-sea sediments or permafrost areas. It consists of 80 to 99.9 percent methane and produces much less pollution than coal, oil and natural gas.天然气水合物通常以“可燃冰”著称，因为它看起来像冰，且易燃，它主要被发现于深海沉淀物或者是永久冻土区域，它由80%到99.9%的甲烷组成，比煤、石油和天然气产生的污染要少很多。The planet's abundant reserves of gas hydrate could potentially sustain mankind's current energy needs for about 1,000 years, so it is regarded as an important alternative to polluting fossil fuels like oil, coal and natural gas.地球丰富的天然气水合物储量可维持人类当前的能源需要约1000年，因此它被视为煤、石油和天然气这种污染性化石燃料的一个重要替代物。"Currently, more than 30 countries and regions have carried out research and exploration into combustible ice and moderate progress has been made in recent years," people.cn reported.人民网报道称：“目前，已经有30多个国家和地区对可燃冰展开了研究和探测，并在近年取得了一定的进展。”