Company taps methane as energy needs surge

BEIJING - As energy demand continues to surge, the next few years will be crucial in the development of coalbed methane, according to Jie Mingxun, president of Petrochina CBM Co, in an exclusive interview last week.

PetroChina plans to spend more than $1.5 billion over the next three years to develop 4.5 billion cubic meters of coalbed methane (CBM) production capacity - almost double the country's entire capacity at the moment, according to Jie.

Among the projects are those in the Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions and Shanxi province.