North China's coal-rich Shanxi Province achieved a record coalbed methane output of 9.81 billion cubic meters in the first eight months of this year, accounting for 81.3 percent of the country's total, according to the provincial statistics bureau.

This year's figure has already exceeded the total output of 2022, the bureau noted.

As an unconventional natural gas, coalbed methane is considered a clean and strategic energy resource. Its effective utilization can reduce risks in mining, 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.

In recent years, Shanxi has led the nation in establishing major coalbed methane production bases. In 2007, Shanxi's coalbed methane production was less than 1.9 billion cubic meters. By 2024, the figure had soared to 13.43 billion cubic meters, accounting for about 80.6 percent of China's total output during same period.