Question : Coal Bed Methane

(a) whether the Government has approved expansion of exploration and production of India’s Coal Bed Methane (CBM) from areas allotted to State-run Coal India Limited (CIL) and if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether the said decision is in line with the Government’s initiatives of ‘Ease of Doing Business’ and will expedite the exploration and exploitation of CBM, enhance the availability of natural gas and reduce the gap in demand and supply of natural gas, if so, the details of the increased development activities for exploration and exploitation of CBM gas reserves in-and-around the block along with details of creation of employment opportunities in CBM operations and in the industries;
(c) the guidelines in place for production of Coal Bed Methane;
(d) the estimated reserved of coal bed methane in different parts of the country, State/UT-wise;
(e) whether the Government has conducted any survey for identification of production of coal bed methane in the country and if so, the number of areas proposed to be identified for the production of coal bed methane in the near future; and
(f) the other steps taken/being taken by the Government to enhance the production of coal bed methane and reduce the demand supply gap in the country?

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COAL, FINANCE AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS
( SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

(a)& (b) : Yes Madam. Government had notified consolidated terms and conditions on 3rdNovember, 2015, for grant of exploration and exploitation rights to Coal India Ltd. (CIL) and its subsidiaries from coal bearing areas for which they possess mining lease for Coal. Government has further simplified the procedure and re-notified the terms and conditions on 08.05.2018 (Annexure-I).

The said decision is in line with the Government’s initiatives of ‘Ease of Doing Business’ and will expedite the exploration and exploitation of CBM, enhance the availability of natural gas and reduce the gap in demand and supply of natural gas. Presently, development activities for exploration and exploitation of CBM gas reserves in-and-around the coal blocks of CIL (viz. in the command area of BCCL & ECL) are under active consideration.
(c): CBM being Natural Gas is explored and exploited under the provisions of Oil Fields (Regulation and Development) Act 1948 (ORD Act 1948) and Petroleum & Natural Gas Rules 1959 (P&NG Rules 1959) administered by Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoP&NG). In order to harness CBM potential in the country, the Government of India formulated CBM Policy in 1997. Government has further simplified the procedure and re-notified the terms and conditions on 08.05.2018.

Further, in order to give a thrust to expedite development of CBM blocks in India and remove impediments, Govt. of India has notified policy on early monetization of CBM on 11.04.2017 wherein CBM Operators are allowed to sell CBM at market determined prices at arm’s length.(Annexure-II)
(d):
Sl. No. STATE Prognosticated CBM Resource
(in BCM) Prognosticated CBM Resource (in TCF) Established CBM Reserves (in TCF)
1 Jharkhand 722.08 25.5 1.916
2 Rajasthan 359.62 12.7 0
3 Gujarat 351.13 12.4 0
4 Odisha 243.52 8.6 0
5 Chhattisgarh 240.69 8.5 0
6 Madhya Pradesh 218.04 7.7 3.65
7 West Bengal 218.04 7.7 4.33
8 Tamil Nadu 104.77 3.7 0
9 Telangana & Andhra Pradesh 99.11 3.5 0
10 Maharashtra 33.98 1.2 0
11 North East 8.50 0.3 0
Total CBM Resource 2599.48 91.8 9.9

(e): CBM Blocks were carved out by DGH in close interaction with Ministry of Coal, GSI & CMPDI. Under CBM policy, 4 rounds of CBM biddings were accomplished resulting in award of 33 CBM blocks which covers 16, 613 Sq Km out of the total available coal bearing areas for CBM exploration of 26, 000 Sq Km.

(f) : A series of efforts have been initiated to give a thrust to expedite development of CBM blocks in India. They are given below:
i. Government has formulated Co-development agreement for exploration and exploitation of CBM & Coal in the same area with a view to resolve the issue of overlapping between coal blocks and CBM Blocks;
ii. Govt. of India has also notified policy on early monetization of CBM on 11.04.2017 wherein CBM Operators are allowed to sell CBM at market determined prices at arm’s length transaction, thereby giving them freedom from CBM Pricing and Allocation Policy of Govt. of India.

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