Recently, the official website of the Shanxi Provincial Department of Natural Resources showed that the Exploration Implementation Plan for the Jingshang East Coalbed Methane Block in Shanxi Province had passed review and completed public notification.

Jingshang East is one of the important coalbed methane exploration rights granted in Shanxi in recent years. It was previously won by Shanxi Xiyang Fenghui Coal Industry Co., Ltd. The approval of its exploration plan means that related exploration work is about to enter the substantive implementation stage.

Public information shows that as early as September 2020, Shanxi Xiyang Fenghui Coal Industry Co., Ltd. had already won the exploration rights for two coalbed methane blocks: Jingshang East and Zuoquan West. The Jingshang East coalbed methane exploration project covers a total area of 92.318 square kilometers, with an estimated total investment of about RMB 360 million.

The exploration right for the project is valid until December 27, 2025. Under current mining rights management requirements, holders of exploration rights must continuously carry out exploration investment and complete the required workload during the validity period of the mining right. Otherwise, they may face the risk of a reduction in exploration area or even impacts on subsequent renewal applications.

Fenghui Coal Industry was established in January 2004 and is mainly engaged in coal washing, coal mining, and mineral resource exploration. Its founder and chairman is Huang Xiangmiao, a businessman from Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. After years of development, Fenghui Coal Industry’s coal business segment now holds 258 million tons of coal reserves, covers a resource area of 40 square kilometers, owns five major coal mines, and has an annual designed production capacity of 3.15 million tons.

Beyond its coal business, Fenghui Coal Industry entered the coalbed methane sector in 2019 in response to the Shanxi provincial government’s call to “gasify Shanxi.” In February 2019, the company successfully won the exploration right for the “Yushe-Wuxiang” coalbed methane block for RMB 626 million. In June 2020, the company committed a total investment of RMB 1.55 billion and successfully won the exploration rights for the “Zuoquan West” and “Jingshang East” coalbed methane blocks. With a total expenditure of RMB 2.18 billion on the three blocks, Fenghui Coal Industry became one of the larger private-sector players in Shanxi’s coalbed methane industry.

In September 2020, Huang Xiangmiao established Shanxi Jinxiang Coal-formed Gas Co., Ltd., proposing to build a demonstration industrial base for a “100-billion-cubic-meter coalbed methane field” integrating green exploration, extraction and gathering, and development and production.

In April 2024, Fenghui Coal Industry transferred the exploration right for the Yushe-Wuxiang coalbed methane block to Jinxiang Coal-formed Gas through a cooperative operation arrangement. The project has a total investment of RMB 3 billion and will be developed over three years from 2024 to 2026. It is expected to produce 520 million cubic meters of coalbed methane annually. The Yushe-Wuxiang block has proven reserves of 16.032 billion cubic meters, a proven reserve area of 89.754 square kilometers, and a mining rights area of 246.69 square kilometers.

In January this year, a public notice issued by the Shanxi Provincial Department of Natural Resources showed that the coalbed methane exploration right for the Zuoquan West block had been transferred from Fenghui Coal Industry to Jinxiang Coal-formed Gas. The Zuoquan West block has an exploration area of 245.731 square kilometers, and a proven coalbed methane reserves report had been submitted by the end of 2025. At present, Jinxiang Coal-formed Gas holds three blocks: Yushe-Wuxiang, Zuoquan West, and Jingshang East.