Proven Deep Coalbed Methane Field of Over 100 Billion Cubic Meters Discovered in the Sanjiaobei Block of the Ordos Basin

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 27, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) announced that the Sanjiaobei Block in Lüliang City, Shanxi Province, has added proven geological reserves of coalbed methane (CBM) exceeding 100 billion cubic meters. The newly added reserves cover a contiguous gas-bearing area of 411.5 square kilometers, with coal seams buried at depths of 1,900 to 2,150 meters. The exploration target belongs to the deep CBM resources on the eastern margin of the Ordos Basin.

The Sanjiaobei Block is located in the eastern part of the Ordos Basin, in the Linxian area of Lüliang, Shanxi. Public exploration data show that the target layers for deep CBM in this area are mainly distributed below 1,500 meters. The previously assessed deep CBM resources are approximately 160 billion cubic meters. During the exploration phase, drilling, fracturing, and production testing have been carried out, and some directional deep CBM wells have achieved a maximum stable daily gas production of over 20,000 cubic meters. The preparation of the deep CBM development plan for the Sanjiaobei Block, initiated in 2024, covers an area of approximately 407 square kilometers, with an expected production capacity of about 1.8 billion cubic meters per year. The plan includes geology and gas reservoir engineering, drilling engineering, gas production engineering, surface engineering, and economic evaluation.

Sanjiaobei is also a block included by the National Energy Administration in the scope of key CBM reserve growth and successive production construction in the eastern Ordos Basin. The "Action Plan for CBM Reserve Growth and Production Increase in the Eastern Ordos Basin (2026–2030)," released in July 2026, proposes conducting studies on accumulation patterns, enrichment mechanisms, and geological-engineering sweet spot evaluation in blocks such as Sanjiaobei, accelerating the evaluation of areas with low exploration maturity, and promptly submitting proven reserves. In the development phase, it requires strengthening the production testing evaluation of CBM in Sanjiaobei, orderly advancing production capacity deployment, and conducting horizontal well tests with ultra-long horizontal sections.

According to the above action plan, by 2030, the proven geological reserves of CBM in the eastern Ordos Basin will increase by more than 600 billion cubic meters compared with the end of the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, and CBM production will reach 18 billion cubic meters, of which deep CBM production will reach more than 16 billion cubic meters. The newly added proven reserves in Sanjiaobei this time represent the latest exploration achievement in the continuous reserve growth of deep CBM in the region. Subsequent work has entered a stage linking reserve evaluation with development plans, production testing evaluation, and production capacity deployment.