China successfully produced natural gas from flammable ice, also known as methane hydrate, in an experimental project conducted in the South China Sea. As a part of the experiment, a drilling platform was deployed off the coast of the south-eastern Chinese city of Zhuhai for 60 days. It produced around 309,000 cubic metres of natural gas, which is a record extraction volume from gas hydrate. According to China's Ministry of Land and resources, China has made a historic breakthrough. The ministry stated that the country has achieved theoretical, technological, engineering and equipment innovations after nearly 20 years of unremitting efforts.