Govt allowed CIL to pump gas from CBM mines

December 25, 2013

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) allowed state-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) to pump methane gas trapped in coal beds of its existing mines. This move will open a new revenue stream for the world’s largest coal miner and help unlock several mines that have remained out of bounds because of the presence of the explosive gas that make mining unsafe.
Presently, rules and regulations prohibit mining firms from extracting Coal Bed Methane (CBM) during mining as the policy does not allow for simultaneous extraction of methane (CBM) and coal. Only those companies that successfully bid for mines with CBM are allowed to explore and produce such gas. The government auctioned 33 CBM blocks since 2001.
CIL holds at least 20% of the estimated 60 billion tones of coal resources in India. It has many coal mines in eight States that are estimated to have CBM reserves of 3.5-4 trillion cubic feet.

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