China has launched a coalbed methane liquefaction project that
boasts the country's largest daily production capacity, company
sources confirmed Saturday.
The project, based in Qinshui Basin, north China's Shanxi
Province, is expected to produce one million cubic meters of
liquefied coalbed methane daily when put into operation next
January, said a manager of China United Coalbed Methane Corp. Ltd.
(CUCBM), developer of the project.
The production lines will be completed at the end of this year.
The annual output is expected to reach 150,000 tons and the annual
sales may hit 200 million cubic meters, the manager said.
The CUCBM manager said that Hong Kong-listed China Leason
Investment Group Co. Limited signed a liquefied coalbed methane
purchasing contract with the company in Beijing earlier this
month.
Coalbed methane is usually burned during mining in order to
avoid gas explosion accidents. A proper use of the gas would not
only make the best use of resources, but also help reduce
greenhouse gas emissions.
China United Coalbed Methane Corp. Ltd., held by China National
Petroleum Corporation and China National Coal Group Corp., is the
only company entitled to cooperate with foreign companies to
exploit coalbed methane resources. Its coalbed methane drills take
up to 85 percent of the nation's total.
It has signed 21 production sharing contracts with 10 overseas
companies, with a total foreign investment of US$119 million.
(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2007)