India's Hydrocarbon Outlook – 2022-2023

155 DGH: 3 DECADES OF UNLOCKING INDIA'S HYDROCARBON POTENTIAL this term refers to the methane recovered from unmined coal seams using surface boreholes. b. Coal Mine Methane (CMM) – Methane gas captured at working mine by underground methane drainage techniques. Any gas captured underground, whether drained in advance or after mining, and any gas drained from the surface of well is including in this definition. c. Ventilation air methane (VAM) - Methane emitted from coal seams that enters the ventilation air and are exhausted from the ventilation shaft at a low concentration, typically in the range of 0.1% to 1.0% by volume. d. Abandoned Mine Methane (AMM) - The methane gas recovered from abandoned coal mines Coal, unlike conventional gas reservoirs, is both the reservoir rock and the source rock for methane. Due to the nature of occurrence, Coal Bed Methane (CBM) or Coal Seam Gas (CSG) is classified as unconventional source of natural gas. India, having the fifth largest proven coal reserves in the world, presents a significant opportunity for considering CBM as an alternative source for augmenting India's energy resource, in line with the vision of reducing hydrocarbon import and moving towards gas-based economy. 7.1.1 CBM Policy Reforms In order to harness CBM potential in the country, the Government of India formulated CBM Policy in 1997, wherein CBM being Natural Gas is explored and exploited under the provisions of Oil Fields (Regulation and Development) Act 1948 (ORD Act 1948) and Petroleum & Natural Gas Rules 1959 (P&NG Rules 1959) administered by Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG). In 2007, CBM Phases & Extensions Policy was framed to provide a transparent and consistent framework for granting extension in exploration phases, under CBM Contracts. In 2015 (re-notified in 2018), the Government of India, granted permission to Coal India Limited (CIL) and its subsidiaries to explore and produce CBM from its areas under Coal Mining Lease allotted to them, thereby, dispensing the requirement of having additional License from Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. This was formulated to increase the area under CBM exploration and to enhance and accelerate the CBM production in the country from Coal mining areas. In 2016, Unified Licensing Policy under Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) was introduced wherein all types of hydrocarbon resources, both conventional and unconventional were allowed to be explored and exploited. The Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) to carry out exploration and production from areas which are either, free or relinquished and Discovered Small Field (DSF) Policy to exploit resources from already discovered fields are two such policies within the HELP regime. In 2017, a policy framework for Early Monetization of CBM was introduced to develop alternate sources of natural gas including CBM and promote gas economy. This policy was formulated to provide marketing and pricing freedom for Coal Bed Methane (CBM) and streamline the operational issues in the existing blocks. India, having the fifth largest proven coal reserves in the world, presents a significant opportunity for considering CBM as an alternative source for augmenting India's energy resource, in line with the vision of reducing hydrocarbon import and moving towards gas-based economy.