Shanxi's CBM Output Grew 9% in First Half 2015

Coal bed methane output in China’s Shanxi province grew by 8.8 percent to 1.6 bcm in the first half of 2015, according to the provincial statistics bureau data.

Value addition of the sector during the period grew 15.6 percent year on year in the first half of this year, Xinhua Finance reported citing the data which was release Thursday.

With impressive growth witnessed during the period, coal bed methane sector has become a new economic growth point of the province.

Shanxi, holding over 10 tcf of reserves, accounts for about a third of China’s total coal bed methane reserves. China has been trying to exploit these huge reserves but serious technical challenges remain.

Earlier this year, six big coal companies in Shanxi reached a framework cooperation agreement to jointly develop coalbed methane, Xinhua Finance said.