China’s CNOOC announces large CBM field

China’s CNOOC Ltd. said it has discovered the Shenfu deep coalbed methane (CBM) field in China, adding proved gas in-place of over 100 billion cubic meters.

The Shenfu deep CBM field is located in Yulin, Shaanxi Province at the eastern edge of Ordos Basin. With continued research and exploration, the company said it has advanced its understanding of deep coalbed methane formation mechanism, reservoir transformation and differentiated drainage technology, which have led to the successful discovery of the Shenfu deep CBM field. The discovery well SM2-33-CH1 encounters 16.5 meters of coal seam at a burial depth of approximately 2,011 meters, which is tested to produce approximately 19,000 cubic meters per day after fracturing operations.

CNOOC Limited announced that it has discovered the Shenfu deep coalbed methane (CBM) field in China, adding proved gas in-place of over 100 billion cubic meters. (Image: CNOOC)

The Chinese governmental authorities have evaluated and approved the proved gas in-place of over 110 billion cubic meters, making it China’s first large deep CBM field of the scale. It is another major onshore discovery by CNOOC after the discovery made in Linxing, Shanxi Province, with similar proved gas in-place volumes.

“The discovery lays a solid foundation for the company to build a large onshore gas production base, which will tap up to one trillion cubic meters of proved gas in-place,” Zhou Xinhuai, CEO and the President of the company, said, “To that end, we will continue to step up our efforts in the exploration and development of onshore unconventional gas, to increase our reserves and production, and to contribute to the high-quality development of the company.”