Next Fuel to Produce CBM in India

Next Fuel has signed an agreement to conduct a pilot project for production of coal bed methane (CBM) for Visat Oil-tech Private Limited in the Indian state of Gujarat.

Under the agreement, Next Fuel will produce CBM using its biogenic coal-to-gas (CTG) technology.  Visat will conduct the testing in an area where it has completed CBM wells but has not documented any methane production. Upon achieving certain goals, Next Fuel and Visat have agreed to discuss a long-term partnership to expand the commercialization of the CTG technology throughout India.

Song Jin, President and CTO of Next Fuel said that India is one of the few countries with abundant deposits of coal that can't be mined due to technical and economic limitations.  “Our CTG technology offers a unique opportunity for coal resource owners in India and the region to produce natural gas from those reserves. Based on recently completed laboratory tests utilizing coal samples provided by Visat, we believe that we will be successful in producing fresh natural gas at the site."