China’s Shanxi province has sold mining rights for 10 coalbed methane blocks, state-run Xinhua news agency reported, the first such deal after the government’s decision this year to use auctions as primary means for distributing rights.
The report said seven regional firms obtained the rights to the blocks, estimated to contain a combined total of 430 billion cubic meters’ worth of coalbed methane, but did not say how much the rights were sold for.
Shanxi has 8.3 trillion cubic meters of coalbed methane assets, accounting for one-third of the nation’s reserves.