The Hindu Business Line : Coal-bed methane: BP to begin exploration in 2007

British Petroleum will begin coal-bed methane (CBM) exploration at the Birbhum block (BB-CBM-2005/III) in West Bengal in 2007. The block was awarded to BP Exploration (Alpha) Ltd during the recently concluded CBM-III round.

BP bid for two CBM blocks in the last round including one at Rajmahal in Chattisgarh, which it lost to a consortium led by Arrow.

"The award of the CBM block marks BP's entry in India's upstream energy sector," a company spokesperson told Business Line. While the detailed investment road map will be readied following the signing of the contract with the Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry, BP aims to bring the block into production as early as possible.

Stressing that the British major is bullish on the prospects of upstream oil and gas sector as well as emerging options such as CBM in India, the spokesperson said that BP had also bid for two oil and gas blocks in the Mahanadi basin in the NELP-VI round. Blocks are due to be awarded under NELP-VI by November 15.

Coal gassification

BP is also exploring underground coal gassification (UCG) as an emerging business opportunity in India and China. "The private sector in India is showing reasonable interest in exploiting emerging opportunities in CBM and UCG," said Mr Raj Puri, Programme Manager CBM and UCG. Mr Puri was in the city recently in connection with a workshop on UCG.

Though he stressed that the company is still on a learning curve on UCG sector, he said that BP is aiming to offer end-to-end solution in the coal gassification sector in collaboration with other technology companies.

According to Mr Puri, just like in other upstream energy sectors, China is making rapid progress in the coal gassification sector too. The country is already setting up a series of surface coal gasification projects and is expected to set up the first commercially viable operationbeyond the CIS countries.

Incidently, the erstwhile USSR has taken pioneering interest in coal gasification. Currently, Uzbekistan runs one such operational project.