The Hindu Business Line : Drilling for coal-bed methane begins at BCCL mine

THE much-awaited drilling for coal-bed methane (CBM) began this week at Moonidih mine in the Jharia coalfields of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) in Jharkhand. Drilling will soon start at another mine at Sudamdih, according to an official release.

Methane gas produced from these two mines will be used in the power plant at Moonidih mine and in dumpers of BCCL, the release said.

The Rs 92.43-crore CBM recovery project is jointly financed by the Global Environment Fund (GEF) of the UNDP and the Ministry of Coal.

The Moonidih project involves drilling seven wells of 300-1,000 meters depth. Scheduled in three stages with a targeted production of 36,000 cubic meters per day, the project is expected to fetch revenue of Rs 2.16 lakh per day at the present selling price of Rs 6,000 per 1,000 cubic meters of CBM.

The Sudamdih project is expected to produce 21,000 cubic meters of CBM per day.

The CBM project will strengthen the knowledge base of institutions like BCCL, Central Mine Planning and Design Institute (CMPDI) at Ranchi, and the Central Mining Research Institute at Dhanbad. It will promote indigenous CBM technology, demonstrate utilisation of gas produced in power generation and help achieve self-sufficiency in methane gas production. The project aims at developing an action plan for CBM application and setting up a CBM clearing house at CMPDI.

The benefits of CBM recovery include reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, improving the health and safety of underground miners and promoting indigenous enterprises engaged in recovery, transportation and use of CBM.

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