OREANDA-NEWS. August 14, 2012. Coal miners in central China’s Shanxi Province extracted 2.76 billion cubic meters (bcm) of coalbed methane (CBM) in the first half of 2012, up by 34.4 percent year-on-year, the provincial government announced last week.

Only 1.26 bcm or less than half was used, however, with the remainder discharged into the atmosphere, according to the announcement.

The residential sector consumed 699 million cubic meters (MMcm) while 455 MMcm was burned to generate power.