International Workshop on Investment Opportunities in Coal Mine Methane Projects in China

Zhang Baoming
Administrator, State Administration of Coal Industry

Address at the Opening Session

Zhang Baoming
Administrator, State Administration of Coal Industry

Respected Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen:

With the supports and collaboration from all relevant departments, the International Workshop on Investment Opportunities in Coal Mine Methane Projects, co-sponsored by China Coal Industry Administration and the USEPA, has opened today. More than 110 participants from the US, Australia, Japan, UK, Germany, World Bank, and China attend this meeting.

CBM is a kind of high quality clean energy. Development and utilization of the CBM will improve the energy constitutes of China, promote mine safety, and also facilitate the comprehensive utilization of the energy and atmospheric environmental protection. The CBM development and utilization has attracted great interests from many countries in the world.

China government has paid high attention to the CBM development and utilization. The CBM development has been put into the national energy development plan and the 10th Five Year plan of the coal industry, and has been listed as the keystone of industrialization of the clean coal technology, enjoying preferential policy. Approved by the State Council of China, China United Coalbed Methane Co. Ltd. was set up in 1996. It is a entrusted with the exclusive right of carrying on the international cooperation to develop and utilize CBM resources, carrying on the prospecting, production, transportation and sales of the CBM product and expanding our opening policy. So far the CUCBM has attracted foreign investment of 67.26million USD. At the same time, with supports from the UN, we have completed a project titled "Development and Utilization in China". In 1994, the former Chinese Ministry of Coal Industry and the USEPA have cooperated to establish the Coalbed Methane Clearinghouse. Since the its founding, the Clearinghouse has actively conducted works, including policy suggestions on the CBM development and utilization to the governmental departments, and providing consulting services to the international institutions and companies. The Clearinghouse has undertaken the ADB sponsored project "Preparing a Coalbed Methane Demonstration Project in China", which has promoted internationally economic collaboration in the field of the CBM. In particular, in Spring of 1999, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji and US Vice President Gore co-chaired the forum of the energy and environment in US. During this forum, we have signed a new collaborative Project "Coal Mine Methane Market Development" with the USEPA, which has further expanded collaboration between China and USA in the development of the CBM.

After recent years of efforts, CBM development and utilization in China, particularly in the mining areas, has achieved rapid progress. By the end of 1999, about 151 coal mines have been equipped with the underground gas drainage systems, forming a relative mature gas drainage technology systems. Coalbed methane recovery increases from 293 million m3 in 1980 to near 800 million m3 in 1999. Drainage before mining has been adopted, so that methane explosion disasters has been reduced while providing high quality clean fuel to the local residence. We insist on adjusting measures to local conditions and combine underground drainage with surface development. In the regions with abundant coalbed methane reserves with relatively favorable conditions, we collaborate with foreign companies to start large scale prospecting, development and utilization of the CBM. So far, about 200 CBM surface wells have been drilled in China, of which 80% wells are located in coal mining areas.

Although we have made some achievements, we are still in the initial stage of the CBM development and utilization, and we still lag much behind the developed countries. China has abundant CBM resources with wide prospects of development. It is primarily estimated that China has CBM resources of about 30-35 trillion m3. In the national key coal mines, high gassy coal mines account for more than 40%. Compared with abundance of the resourcs, current scale of development and utilization is not well matched with. It is expected that international organizations, foreign governmental departments and research institutions as well as societies and companies, use their advantages in technology and finance to take part in the development and utilization of the CBM in China. In order to encourage and expand cooperation with foreign companies, Chinese Government has included the CBM development and utilization into the formal documents "Instruction List of Foreign Investment Industry" and "Instruction List of Foreign Investment Industry in Western Areas", and has provided some favorable policies. In some mining areas, such as Yangquan, Jincheng, Huaibei and Tiefa, we are busy on the first stage prospecting and are speeding up the development and utilization.

We are happy to see that the participants here are from enterprises, research institutions and governmental departments, including old and new friends. The opening of this workshop will give us an opportunity to exchange our views and to discuss further collaborations. We believe that this workshop will further strengthen our mutual collaboration to promote the CBM development and utilization.

At last, I sincerely wish a success for the workshop. Wish all participants a pleasant life and a great achievement during your stay in China.

Thank you!

Co-sponsored by:		The State Administration of Coal Industry
		United States Environmental Protection Agency
Organized by:		China Coal Information Institute

Add：	8, xiaguangli, Chaoyang District Beijing 100016, China
Tel/Fax：	0086-10-64664317
email:	cbmc@public.bta.net.cn