Since October 2025, Daqing Drilling and Longmay Group have launched a special cooperation program focusing on coalbed methane resources in the Jixi mining area. After half a year of research, technical assessment, and plan finalization, the comprehensive utilization test well project for coalbed methane in the Jixi mining area officially began construction on May 18, 2026, marking the substantive implementation stage of coalbed methane development in Heilongjiang Province.

On May 18, a grand commencement ceremony was held for the Jixi mining area coalbed methane comprehensive utilization test well project. Sun Chengkun, Party secretary of Jixi, announced the official launch of the project at the site. Li Chunyu, vice mayor of the Jixi Municipal Government; Wang Ge, Party secretary and chairman of Longmay Group; and Zhu Ruibin, general manager and deputy Party secretary of Daqing Drilling, attended the ceremony and delivered speeches. Leaders from Longmay Group and Daqing Drilling, experts from Northeast Petroleum University, Heilongjiang University of Science and Technology, and Heilongjiang University of Technology, as well as officials from relevant Jixi municipal departments, jointly witnessed this important moment.

Project Overview

The project is located in the core mining area of Jixi, covering 120 square kilometers and containing nearly 20 billion cubic meters of coalbed methane resources, with favorable development conditions. As a provincial key demonstration project, it will build multiple test wells and seek breakthroughs in key technologies for the efficient extraction of low-permeability coalbed methane. After reaching designed production, the project is expected to form an annual production capacity of 200 million cubic meters. It will not only thoroughly address gas safety management challenges in the mining area, but also provide stable clean energy for the region, creating an integrated development model combining safety management, energy supply assurance, and green low-carbon growth.

Zhu Ruibin, general manager of Daqing Drilling, said that coalbed methane, as an emerging energy source with the same properties as natural gas, is an important part of the energy industry layout and a key field for building new energy business forms. Heilongjiang Province has abundant unconventional natural gas resources and huge development potential. The successful launch of this project marks a key step forward in the province’s coalbed methane development. It is a practical measure to implement the national energy strategy and safeguard national energy security, as well as an important part of advancing the “Gasification of Heilongjiang” initiative and empowering local revitalization. Daqing Drilling has always kept in mind General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instruction to “carry the red flag forward,” and has accumulated rich experience in coalbed methane development in Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Baicheng in Xinjiang, as well as tight gas development in Daqing Oilfield. He said he believes that with broader and deeper cooperation, the energy prospects of Heilongjiang Province and Jixi will become brighter. Guided by the Daqing spirit and Iron Man spirit, Daqing Drilling will make every effort to build a high-quality, benchmark, and demonstration project, contributing the strength of Daqing Drilling’s “iron army” to local economic and social development.

On behalf of the Jixi Municipal Party Committee and municipal government, Li Chunyu warmly congratulated the project on its commencement. He said the Jixi mining area coalbed methane comprehensive utilization test well project is an important measure to seize energy development opportunities during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, cultivate new momentum in clean energy, and promote the transformation of resource-based cities. It is also a major and welcome achievement in deepening cooperation between enterprises and local government for mutual benefit. The start of construction is of great strategic and practical significance for strengthening coal mine safety management, improving the regional clean energy supply capacity, extending the coal industry chain, driving local employment and income growth, and promoting high-quality economic development across the city. He expressed hope that all relevant departments would provide proactive services and full support, and that both enterprise and local government would take the project launch as a new starting point to deepen comprehensive and practical cooperation, jointly transform resource advantages into industrial and development advantages, and write a new chapter in enterprise-local integrated development.

On behalf of Longmay Group, Wang Ge expressed sincere thanks to all parties for their care and support. He said the Jixi mining area coalbed methane comprehensive utilization test well project is a major achievement of strategic cooperation between local government and enterprises for high-quality development, and a landmark project for Longmay Group in implementing the national energy security strategy and promoting green and low-carbon transformation. Standing at a new starting point, Longmay Group will uphold the highest standards, strictest requirements, and most practical measures, strictly control project quality, firmly maintain safety bottom lines, tightly manage the construction schedule, and strengthen factor guarantees, fulfilling the mission and responsibility of a state-owned enterprise through concrete action and results.

In-depth Analysis

1. Energy Security: Filling Heilongjiang’s Natural Gas Gap and Safeguarding National Energy Security

Heilongjiang Province is rich in coal but has relatively limited oil and gas resources, with a high level of dependence on external natural gas supplies. Coalbed methane, as an unconventional form of natural gas, is key to addressing the imbalance in the province’s energy structure. After the project is implemented, its annual production capacity of 200 million cubic meters can directly supplement regional natural gas supply, support the “Gasification of Heilongjiang” project in achieving its target of utilizing more than 120 million cubic meters of coalbed methane in 2026, reduce dependence on supplies transferred from outside the province, and strengthen the “Heilongjiang defense line” for national energy security.

1. Industrial Transformation: A New Path for Coal Cities and New Momentum for the Regional Economy

As a typical resource-based city, Jixi has long relied on the coal industry and faces significant pressure to transform. Through a model of gas extraction, clean energy utilization, and industrial extension, the project will turn a coal mine safety hazard into an economic advantage. On the one hand, gas-fired power generation and heating can reduce corporate energy costs and cut carbon emissions. On the other hand, the project can drive the development of supporting industries such as drilling, fracturing, and operation and maintenance, create jobs, and promote Jixi’s transformation from a coal base into a clean energy base. It could also provide a “Jixi model” for the transformation of resource-based cities across China.

1. Government-Enterprise Coordination: Strong SOE Cooperation and a New Model for Energy Development

The project combines Daqing Drilling’s technology and experience with Longmay Group’s resources and sites, supported by policy backing from the Jixi municipal government and technical support from universities. This has created an efficient cooperation model led by state-owned enterprises, empowered by government, and supported by industry-university-research collaboration. Such a model breaks down industry barriers and enables resource sharing and complementary advantages. It not only provides replicable and scalable experience for large-scale coalbed methane development in Heilongjiang Province, but also promotes a shift in energy development from a single-entity model to coordinated and mutually beneficial cooperation, supporting the high-quality development of Heilongjiang’s energy industry.