Coal-Bed Methane Resources and Sustainable Development in China
中国煤层气资源与可持续发展战略

China is a country with both huge coal production and abundant resources of coal-bed methane. According to statistics data, the amount of coal-bed methane resources reserves in China is 15.9×1012m3. The exploitable amount of reserves is 2.0×1012m3, ranking third place in the world. Although we have recognized the importance of developing coal-bed methane, but its utilization ratio is low still. The coal-bed methane of draining off to the air is about 360×108m3 annually, with a recycle ratio of 1.56 percent. Coal-bed methane resources quantity in China is the same as in America, but coal-bed methane output in China is 1.6 percent of that in American. Compared with developed countries, a great gap on coal-bed methane development and exploitation in China are still existed. Extracting the methane before exploiting coal could avoid the risk of gas explosion. Coal-bed methane resources as a clean source of nergy, it can change the unreasonable energy structure, reduce the air pollution, protect human health and environment. In the view of sustainable development in the 21st century, we should enhance geological tectonic research on coal basins, build the coal-bed methane mining mode, reinforce international cooperation and enlarge the range of coal-bed methane exploitation.