Progress of some coalbed methane projects in China 1 Progress in 1995 of UN-Funded Project Development of Coalbed Meth ane Resources in China The 1995 annual triangular review meeting for the UN coalbed metha ne project was held in the Xi¡äan Branch of Central Coal Mining Resear ch Institute from January 23 to 24, 1996. Chen Minhe, director of Chin ese party, presided at the meeting.Ms.Susan E.c Dade,Assistance Repres entative of Beijing Office of UNDP, Mr. Wu Ruhu, high level project official, Mr. Li Shaoyi, energy and economic consultant with UNDPSMS, Mr. Kenneth Ancell, general consultant of the project as well as Mr. H ao Yuce, Mr. Wang Naixin and Mr. Li Jianren from the Ministry of Coal Industry, Mr. Hu Wenhai, director of Chinese expert team and director s of all sub-projects etc. attended the meeting. The meeting reviewed the execution and remaining issues of the project in 1995, identifie d several key tasks that should be jointly implemented by the Coal Min istry and UNDP, decided the general requirement of the project¡äs prog ress in 1996 and specific measures which should be taken to complete p roject plan for 1996. In addition, the meeting confirmed that Star Mi ning Corp. is entrusted by the Coal Ministry to be responsible for tec hnical coordination. The progress of the UN project is as follows: Kailuan 3ª¬££ well: Experiencing 7 months of difficult construct ion, casing and well cementing has been finished. Logging results by H uaibei Oil Field Logging Co. show a good quality of well cementing, re turn height of cement is 550ª±80m, reaching the design requirement. T wo experts arrived in Kailuan Coal Mining Administration on 14 March,1 996, thereafter, the 3ª¬££ well entered the stage of coring and testi ng. With the help of experts from drill manufacturer and REI Co., und erground horizontal drilling at Tiefa Coal Mining Administration solve d the problem with drilling machine, drilling returned to normality, t he cumulative advance reached 305m. After surface training and trial drilling for underground horizont al drilling in Songzao¡äs Shihao mine was completed with the help of foreign experts, drilling equipment began to be installed underground on 12 March, 1995, meanwhile a horizontal drill was transported underg round at Datong No.1 mine. In early April, 1996, experts from REI Co. came to Songzao to instruct underground drilling. 2 Liulin CBM Project Since 1991, North China Bureau of Petroleum Geology under the Min istry of Geology and Mineral Resources has drilled 7 wells in Liulin region of Hedong coalfield, Shanxi Province, well depth is from 300 t o 400m. Especially, UNDP provided the Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources with funds to the project " Deep Coalbed Methane Exploration ", preliminarily selecting 4 exploration areas from 8 areas, finally, selecting Liulin of Shanxi Province as test area for coalbed methane exploration and development, conducting coalbed methane extraction tes t with small well grid in the area. Since October 1994, the Bureau has made a breakthrough in coalbed methane exploration and recovery with small well grid. In the six-well grid, each well has a gas production over 500mª¬3/d, among which, 3 wells reached 1000 to 3000 mª¬3/d in ga s production, and Liu 3ª¬££ well has the highest production of 7000mª¬ 3/d. 3 Sino-Australia Liulin CBM Project North China Bureau of Petroleum Geology and Australian lowell pet roleum (China) Co. Ltd. jointly established the Huawell CBM Co. mutual ly develop the coalbed methane resources in Liulin region of Shanxi Pr ovince. The contract area includes 218 kmª¬2 of exploring area, buried depth of coal is from 300 to 1000 m, the total thickness of coal seam s amounts to 15-20m, and gas content is about 10-20mª¬3/t. Experts from both parties have worked out a plan for initial explo ration. According to the plan, three test wells will be drilled in the contract area to comprehensively know the geological characteristics of coalbed methane in the area. For the purpose of guaranteeing enoug h and reliable date to evaluate, coring and gas content determination are conducted in all coal seams with thickness above 0ª±5m in the thre e wells, and permeability and ground stress are determined at main coa l seams. The first well was drilled on 15 May, 1996, and the second well be gan to be constructed in June. 4 Jincheng CBM Project Jincheng Coal Mining Administration and Sino-American Energy Co. a re cooperating to develop coalbed methane resources in Jincheng Mining area, up to now, four wells have been completed. Pan 1ª¬££ well is a test well, testing results show high gas conte nt and low permeability there. Pan 2ª¬££ well is a production well, it began to produce gas on 23 September, 1994. In the first half year of 1995, its production reach ed 3000 to 5000 mª¬3/d, and gas production is relatively reliable. Pan 3ª¬££ and 4ª¬££ wells have entered into the stage of gas prod uction, of which, Pan 4ª¬££ well began to produce gas in early Decemb er, 1995, with an output of 100-200mª¬3/d. In addition, two gas turbines with an capacity of 120kW each are i nstalled in Jincheng Coal Mining Administration on 26 August 1995. The gas turbines use coalbed methane as fuel for power generation, and no w are in normal operation. (China Coalbed Methane Clearinghouse)