Xinjiang’s first coalbed methane demonstration project will reach full production capacity by the end of October, with an output of 30 million cubic meters

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According to the Department of Land and Resources of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Xinjiang’s first pilot project for the development and utilization of coalbed methane, located in the Baiyanghe mining area in Fukang, will be completed and put into operation by the end of next month, bringing another new source of clean energy to Xinjiang. According to a report in Xinjiang Daily on September 22, Li Ruiming, the chief engineer of the Coalfield Geology Bureau of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, said that once this project is implemented, the production capacity will reach 30 million cubic meters. The coalbed methane will be compressed at gas collection stations and then transported by tankers to gas stations in nearby cities for use by vehicles; in the future, it can also be supplied for domestic or industrial use through pipeline systems. The overall progress of the project is going well at present. According to the national assessment of coalbed methane resources, Xinjiang is rich in coalbed methane resources, with estimated reserves of 9.5 trillion cubic meters, accounting for 26% of the country’s total estimated coalbed methane reserves. Since the 1980s, the Coalfield Geology Bureau of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has been exploring and developing coalbed methane resources in Xinjiang. At the end of 2008, Team 156 of the bureau completed the construction of Well FS-1 in the Baiyanghe area of the Fukang mining district, making it the first coalbed methane well in Xinjiang to produce gas. It is reported that the pilot demonstration project for the development and utilization of coalbed methane in the Baiyanghe mining area of Fukang City will be able to achieve an annual production capacity of hundreds of millions of cubic meters of coalbed methane within the next 3 to 5 years, thereby providing a source of natural gas to supplement the supply in the Urumqi region.