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Drilling deep for methane gas

Apart from its energy possibilities coal bed methane offers incentives like carbon credits

HARNESSING UNCONVENTIONAL ENERGY: Drilling in progress at a pilot CBM project of Bharat Coking Coal in Jharkhand

THESE ARE early days yet but firm moves have begun in the country for the exploration of coal-bed methane — an unconventional energy source, the economic viability of which has already been proven in the U.S., which began looking for methane from coal-beds in the 1970s. CBM now meets about eight per cent of the U.S. energy needs. Several other coal-producing countries such as Australia, China, Great Britain, Poland and now India, have begun paying increasing attention to harnessing this form of energy.

Coal-bed methane is actually methane gas present in coal seams. This is the gas that threatens the lives of miners working in underground mines. At other times it is released into the atmosphere, from working mines, abandoned mines and through the exhaust system of mines, leading to emission of a greenhouse gas.

Efforts are also on to extract CMM or coal mine methane. Officials say that there is no difference in the chemical composition of the two and only the geo-mining conditions vary. CBM is methane gas that lies trapped in virgin coal seams while CMM is the gas trapped in seams that have been worked on. Abandoned mine methane and ventilated mine methane are also covered under CMM. While the former refers to methane extracted from abandoned mines, VAM (ventilated air methane) refers to the gas tapped from the exhaust of mine fans.

Exciting possibilities

While CBM extraction opens up new energy possibilities, especially at the pithead of mines, it is the recovery of the gas from running mines (like VAM) that carries exciting potential such as qualifying for carbon credits under the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol., besides paving the way for generating energy in an environment-friendly manner.

While the Union Coal Ministry is consulted on all matters pertaining to methane extraction from coal seams, CBM is taken as a natural gas and in this case the Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry steers, regulates and monitors CBM exploration with the Directorate of Hydro Carbons being the statutory authority. In the case of CMM, the regulating authority is the Directorate General of Mines Safety.

According to a study on AMM and VAM, very little has so far been done to tap these resources to supplement the country's energy supply and also improve the environment. There are several highly gassy mines lying along the Damodar river basin such as Moonidih, Amalbad, Chinakuri, Ghusik and Kalidaspur where 0.3 to 0.5 per cent of the methane in the exhausts of the mine fans is available. In the case of AMM, mines around Raniganj and Jharia can be exploited and countries such as Australia, the U.K. and Germany have proven technology for this.

In India, CBM possibilities are mainly in coalfields of the eastern region though there are promising mines in the Godavari basin and Barner basin (lignite) in the West. Altogether seven such areas have so far been identified.

Corporate entry

India formulated its CBM policy in 1997 and according to a memorandum of understanding between the Coal Ministry and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, allotment of CBM blocks was started. And the coal companies will have the right of CBM exploitation in their working mines.

So far two rounds of bidding have taken place, with the Petroleum Ministry inviting offers for 10 CBM blocks in the third round on February 27, 2006. According to the ministry, India's CBM policy provides for attractive fiscal and contractual terms, considered one of the best in the world. Among Indian companies, ONGC has marked a major presence in these rounds getting awarded nine blocks, IOC got allotted blocks in the first round in Ranigunj, Bokaro and Madhya Pradesh. In the second round, apart from ONGC, Reliance Industries, Essar Oil Ltd and New Mark Co of the U.S. and Great Eastern Energy have all won some blocks.

Alongside, the Coal Ministry, with co-funding from the Global Environment Facility and UNDP, has undertaken a pilot scale demonstration project in the Jharia coalfields. This is set to provide the required information on Indian coalfields so that viability of the CBM projects can be realistically assessed and CBM recovery can proceed.

BCCL's project

The Rs. 92 crore project is being implemented by CMPDIL and Bharat Coking Coal, two subsidiaries of Coal India, and is likely to get completed by October 2006. While bulk of the funding has come from UNDP/GEF, ONGC has provided Rs. 18 crore. There is optimism that this project will be over by October 2006 and that by 2007 it will be possible to utilise this gas to run a 500 kW power station at BCCL and also dumpers which are expected to operate on compressed CBM at the Sudamdih mine of BCCL. This is seen as a capability building project.

While in these times of clean and green fuels global efforts focus on supplementing coal-based energy forms, India, which sources over 50 per cent of its energy from fuels like coal and lignite, has just begun its journey. Methane gas in the form of CBM is considered to be among the last remaining hydrocarbons waiting to be exploited as alternative energy sources. As things stand now, it is expected to be a supplementary source of energy. It remains to be seen if it can surpass expectations on this front and become a viable fuel source.

Indrani Dutta in Kolkata

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