Reliance Industries (RIL) has commenced commercial production from its coal bed methane (CBM) block SP(West)–CBM–2001/1 from March 24, 2017, and is currently supplying CBM for commissioning the Shahdol Phulpur Pipeline (SHPPL).

The production from RIL’s Sohagpur CBM fields will gradually ramp-up in the next 15 to18 months making RIL among the largest unconventional natural gas producers in India, the company said in a statement.

 CBM is an environmental-friendly natural gas extracted from coal-bed, and has become an important source of unconventional gas in many parts of the world.

 RIL was awarded the licence to explore two adjacent CBM blocks SP(West) and SP(East) with an area of 995 sq km in the Round 1 of CBM block bidding by the Government of India in 2001. RIL has drilled more than 200 wells connected to two gas gathering stations in the first phase of development.  RIL expects to drill 600-800 wells further and develop associated infrastructure over the next phases of development, the company said.