As of December 29th, China Petroleum's coal and rock gas production in 2024 has exceeded 2.3 billion cubic meters, an increase of 130% compared to the same period last year, and significant progress has been made in the large-scale development of coal and rock gas.

Coal rock gas is a new type of unconventional natural gas resource between conventional gas and coalbed methane, widely distributed in oil and gas basins such as Ordos, Sichuan, and Junggar in China, with abundant geological reserves.

At present, China's external dependence on natural gas resources still exceeds 40%, and coal rock, as the main gas source rock for natural gas formation, will form a new field for the development of natural gas in China due to the accumulation of coal rock gas trapped within its layers. Zhang Shuichang, an academician of the CAS Member, said: "With breakthroughs in coal rock gas exploration and development, coal rock gas is expected to become the main body of China's future natural gas production and increase, an important strategic replacement resource for sustainable development, and will play an important role in ensuring national energy security."

However, traditional beliefs believe that coal and rock buried deeper than 1500 meters are "forbidden zones" for natural gas development due to their large burial depth, low gas content, and high development costs. Compared with coalbed methane, coal rock gas requires reservoir modification to improve reservoir connectivity in order to achieve long-term effective development. China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) draws on the integrated reservoir mechanism of tight gas and shale gas, explores coal and rock as a whole reservoir, and preliminarily clarifies the geological and development characteristics of coal and rock gas. It has developed and improved multi-stage fracturing technology for horizontal wells, gradually forming a development technology plan mainly based on "horizontal wells+volume fracturing", and the pace of exploration and development has exceeded expectations.

As an important natural gas resource, PetroChina has long been committed to the exploration and development of coal formed gas, coalbed methane and other resources. In the 1970s, China Petroleum Exploration and Development Research Institute conducted a series of studies on coal formed gas. In 2005, Xinjiang Oilfield carried out gas testing in coal seam section in Baijiahai area of the Junggar Basin. In 2021, the Caitan 1H well in Xinjiang Oilfield achieved a daily gas production of 57000 cubic meters, marking the first significant breakthrough in coal and rock gas production. In 2024, a total of over 100 new coal and rock gas wells will be put into operation in Coalbed Methane Company, Changqing Oilfield, Jidong Oilfield, and Liaohe Oilfield, with a cumulative proven geological reserve of over 500 billion cubic meters.

Next, PetroChina will further strengthen the research on the formation and enrichment mechanism of coal and rock gas, accelerate the development of applicable technologies for coal and rock gas benefits, achieve quality and efficiency improvement throughout the entire life cycle of coal and rock gas development, and assist in the efficient development and utilization of coal and rock gas.