China to Set Up Two CBM Production Bases: Report
China is planning to construct two coalbed methane (CBM) production bases in coal-rich Shanxi province in the northern part of the country, Xinhua reported September 28.
The two bases, one to be located in the Qinshui Basin and the other in the eastern Erdos Basin, each have a recoverable reserve of 1 trillion m3, according to the Shanxi provincial development and reform commission, which has made environmental impact assessments public. These bases are major projects promoted by the National Energy Administration, with their outputs expected to reach a combined 8.3bn m3/yr, the news agency reported.
In the five years to 2020, China plans to add proven CBM reserves of 420bn m3 and build two to three CBM production bases. By 2020, the country's output is expected to reach 24bn m3/yr.
In 2020, Shanxi plans to raise CBM output to 20bn m3 and transport 6bn m3 of gas from the two bases to other parts of the country through pipelines.
Chinese state-owned explorers have been ramping up gas output to meet strong domestic demand, as result of government’s coal to gas switching policy put into force early last year. In 2017, China's natural gas production was 147.42bn m³, up 8.5% year on year, according to statistics bureau data.