皇冠体育app

By Wan Zhihong (皇冠体育app Daily)
Updated: 2007-09-27 10:24

皇冠体育app yesterday set up the 皇冠体育app United Coalbed Methane National Engineering Research Center in a move to boost the coalbed methane (CBM) industry.

With a registered capital of 76 million yuan, the center is co-funded by six companies: 皇冠体育app United Coalbed Methane Corp Ltd (CUCBM), Petro皇冠体育app, Sinopec, Huaibei Mining Group, 皇冠体育app University of Geosciences (Beijing) and Beijing Orion Co Ltd.

With the center, 皇冠体育app will quicken its pace of CBM development, which has components similar to natural gas.

As a practical and reliable alternative energy source, CBM will relieve 皇冠体育app's rising energy demand as well as reduce the number of gas explosions in coal mines, said Liu Yanrong, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

"In the next two to three years we will formulate some regulations for the nation's CBM industry, we will also develop advanced technologies for the industry with our own intellectual property," said Hu Aimei, the new center's general manager.

皇冠体育app is still in the early stages of CBM development. Last year, the NDRC, 皇冠体育app's top economic planner, drafted a five-year plan for the CBM industry. According to this blueprint, 皇冠体育app is to increase its annual CBM output to 10 billion cubic meters by 2010.

The nation started to develop CBM in the 1990s. From 2004, 皇冠体育app has seen rapid growth in its CBM industry. By the end of 2006, the country had drilled over 1,400 CBM wells.

In 2005 and 2006, 皇冠体育app drilled as many CBM wells as it did between 1990 and 2004, said Sun Maoyuan, general manager of CUCBM.

Located to the southeast of Shanxi Province, Qinshui basin has become the first CBM production base in 皇冠体育app. This year CUCBM and Petro皇冠体育app have together built a production facility with a capacity of 1 billion cubic meters per year in the basin.

CUCBM this month found another large CBM block in Hancheng in Northwest 皇冠体育app's Shaanxi Province, with a proven reserve of 5 billion cubic meters.