The Central Mine Planning & Design Institute (CMPDI), an exploration and consultancy arm of Coal India, will be the implementation agency for its planned Rs 3000 Crore Coal Bed Methane (CBM) projects.
A memorandum of understanding has recently been signed by the consultancy arm with subsidiaries, Bharat Coking Coals and Eastern Coal Fields to establish these projects in their respective leasehold areas.
CMPDI will be the main implementing agency for the subsidiaries and will facilitate the extraction of methane to complement domestic demand for gas and enhance the safety of mining and coal production.
The first project is likely to be carried out by Bharat Coking Coal at Jharia Coalfields in Jharkhand. This block contains CBM reserves of 25 billion cubic meters and is scheduled to start development two years after the start of the project.
The second project would be undertaken by Eastern Coalfields at Ranigunj in West Bengal. This block holds about 3 billion cubic meters of CBM trapped in coal seams that can be extracted and sold on the market.
Two years ago, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs waived the obligation of the coal major to receive separate licenses from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for the extraction of coal bed methane from its leased areas.
Coal India’s CBM projects were on hold following notification by the Government in 2015, which made it compulsory for Coal India to obtain an operating license from the Ministry of Petroleum for CBM projects in its lease area.
In reality, Coal India was one of the first movers in the sector. Back in 2004 , the company obtained support from the UNDP Global Environment Fund and the center to set up a pilot project in Moonidih.
Three wells were drilled and CBM was successfully extracted from the wells used to generate electricity.
Methane produced by coal mines remains trapped in seams that escape into the atmosphere when coal is extracted. Methane trapped in mines can destroy miners if it is found in large concentrations.
Furthermore, when produced in a condensed form, methane can replace natural gas which can be transported in pipelines. This is used in the fertiliser, power generation and processing of liquefied petroleum gas ( LPG) industries.
