Poland Launches Test CBM-Fired Power Plant
State-run Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG) has brought on stream a 0.9-MW power generation set fuelled with coal-bed methane (CBM) extracted experimentally from fields in Upper Silesia, it said April 4. Analysis by the Polish geological institute (PGI) shows there could be 170bn m³ of gas there.
PGNiG and PGI have been running the Geo-Metan CBM research project in Silesia since 2016 and the unit is operating at the Gilowice-1 borehole site, producing electricity for the Tauron Dystrybucja power grid. The test production run by PGNiG from June to November 2017 using hydraulic fracturing yielded close to 900,000 m³ of gas – enough to merit further work, it said.
Although small-scale, the company said the project to produce methane from coal seams has entered a new phase, moving from technical feasibility to commercial success.
As part of the Geo-Metan project, PGNiG and Polska Grupa Gornicza have signed an agreement for test production of CBM from coal deposits in the Mikolow area, scheduled for mining later on. PGNiG is negotiating similar contracts with other coal producers.
If effective extraction methods are developed, the Silesian reserves are likely to make a major contribution to domestic gas production in Poland. Furthermore, CBM extraction will also help improve mining safety, reduce coal production costs, and curb methane emissions from mining operations, said PGNiG.