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China’s largest coalbed methane field reaches record output
8/4/2026
News
China’s first large-scale coalbed methane (CBM) development, the Daning–Jixian block in north China’s Shanxi Province, has reached a record daily production capacity of 11mn m³, according to PetroChina Coalbed Methane Company.
Located on the eastern margin of the Ordos Basin, the field is said to hold proven reserves of around 400bn m³ and is positioned as a national demonstration project for deep CBM development.
In 2025, it produced 3.05bn m³, making it the largest CBM-producing asset in China to date. A second phase of expansion is currently under way and is expected to add 1.5bn m³ of annual capacity.
This project is one of several key CBM developments in China, where national resources are estimated to exceed 40tn m³. Shanxi, the country’s leading CBM-producing region, accounts for over 80% of national output, with production reaching 13.43bn m³ in 2024.
CBM is different to other traditional gas reservoirs, as methane is held within the coal seams by adsorption. Extraction involves drilling down into coal seams and pumping out the groundwater. The resultant drop in pressure is sufficient for methane held within the coal to be released.
China has set targets of 5tn m³ in proven CBM reserves and annual production of 40–50bn m³ by 2035 – however, achieving this scale of development presents several challenges. Coal seams with depths exceeding 1,500 metres are classified as deep CBM, where elevated formation pressures, temperatures and in-situ stress complicate permeability, gas desorption and well productivity, increasing both technical risk and development costs.
Meanwhile, infrastructure constraints, including pipeline connectivity and gas processing capacity, further affect project economics, while market access remains uneven across regions in China.
Industry participants have called for stronger policy support to address these barriers. In 2025, Zhang Qingsheng, Executive Director of Sinopec Zhongyuan Oilfield under China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, highlighted the need for increased investment, fiscal incentives and streamlined approvals, alongside continued advances in extraction technology to improve recovery rates.
Regulators have also moved to tighten methane emission rules. In April 2025, a revised Coalbed Methane Emission Standard lowered the methane concentration threshold for mandatory capture and utilisation from 30% to 8%. This revision, the first since 2008, aligns with a broader national action plan on methane emission control and is expected to drive additional investment in collection and processing infrastructure.
