Coal news and updates

CIL to explore CBM under its lease areas

December 23: In a significant development, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved exploration of coal bed methane (CBM) areas that fall within the coal mining lease allotted to Coal India Limited (CIL), an official release said.

According to the official statement, this will lead to additional availability of CBM, along with mitigating safety hazards.

As per the earlier policy, the rights for exploration of CBM in the country had been given to gas and oil exploration companies amidst an on-going debate as to whether CIL should be allowed to explore CBM in its mining lease areas or not.

The release said the exploration of CBM by CIL will have an added advantage as it will be gainfully channelled into its supply volumes. The government also expects that this will add to the revenues of both central and state government as well as the mine operators.