China's largest coalbed methane field reaches milestone daily output

This photo taken on June 25, 2022 shows workers checking equipment at the workshop of a coalbed methane mining base in Qinshui County, north China's Shanxi Province. (Xinhua/Wang Feihang)

TAIYUAN, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's first large-scale coalbed methane field, the Daning-Jixian block in north China's Shanxi Province, has achieved a daily production capacity of over 8 million cubic meters, with an annual output potential of 3 billion cubic meters, according to its developer.

This marks a new milestone in China's unconventional natural gas development, said PetroChina Coalbed Methane Co., Ltd.

Located on the eastern margin of the Ordos Basin, the field is a national demonstration project for deep coalbed methane exploitation. With estimated reserves of 600 billion cubic meters, the field began construction in 2019.

As an unconventional natural gas, coalbed methane is considered a clean and strategic energy resource. Its utilization can help reduce mining risks, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and ease gas shortages.

Shanxi holds abundant coalbed methane reserves, with an estimated 8.31 trillion cubic meters of resources buried at depths of less than 2,000 meters, nearly one-third of the national total.

Thanks to continuous technological innovations, in the first seven months of this year, the Daning-Jixian block produced more than 1.2 billion cubic meters of coalbed methane, up over 50 percent year on year.