What is Coal Bed Methane (CBM)?
CBM is a form of natural gas that is extracted from deep coal seams around the world. Formed from plant materials over millions of years, coal contains methane in the matrix attached directly to the molecules; certain deep coals contain enough methane to warrant production using wells. Methane was first considered a nuisance and hazard in shallow coal mining, but because the gas is pure and can be fed directly into gas distribution networks, CBM is now commercially extracted from deep coal in Australia and USA.
