IMO E. What is the OA ?

Gas hydrates, chemical compounds of water and natural gas, are increasingly being studied for their potential to be huge reservoirs of energy, possibly causing sea floor instability, and significant contributors to global warming.

A. to be huge reservoirs of energy, possibly causing sea floor instability, and
B. to be huge reservoirs of energy, possibly causing sea floor instability, and even as
C. as huge reservoirs of energy, possibly causing sea floor instability, and
D. as huge reservoirs of energy, and the possible cause of sea floor instability,
E. as huge reservoirs of energy, as possible causes of sea floor instability, and even as

Please also explain your reasoning.

Hi guys......i checked on many sites........

Both potential to be .......and potential as ....are correct..........

Verbal instructors please explain which one of the two should we use in this context....... and also pls explain the rest of the sentence.......

Potential to [verb], potential as [noun]. Both are correct idioms, given the verb "be" with "potential to" or the noun clause "huge source of energy" with "potential as"

Everything boils down to parallelism; (E) is the only answer choice where all three elements of the list are parallel "As huge sources....as possible causes...as significant contributors"

Hope that helps!