As part of the PGNiG and JSW project, a demonstration installation will be built for capturing methane from directional boreholes made from the surface and production tests will be carried out to analyze the efficiency of methane inflow and the impact of the fracking on future mining of coal. The works will be executed this year on the basis of the Geological Works Project approved by the Minister of the Environment.
– We are happy that JSW is another company that undertakes cooperation on the project which is very important for safety of miners’ work in the mines and for reduction of methane emissions into the atmosphere, said Piotr Woźniak, President of the PGNiG SA Management Board. – Cooperation with JSW is another step towards launching the work on the mining of this fuel on an industrial scale, he added.
According to the estimates of the Polish Geological Institute - National Research Institute, in the area of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin there may be as much as 193 billion cubic meters of methane, which is a serious problem for coal mining companies.
– Methane in coal deposits, which is a problem for mining companies, for PGNiG is an opportunity for an additional source of gas. This way we can source as much as 1.5 billion cubic meters of this raw material per year. As a result, we will strengthen Poland’s energy security and, at the same time, improve the work conditions in mines, said Łukasz Kroplewski, PGNiG SA’s Vice-President for Development.
Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa, a partner in the project, is a leader in economic utilization of methane. –As we mine increasingly deep coal deposits, the methane hazard in our mines will increase. Methane is also a precious energy fuel. We take a number of actions to ensure safety for our employees, minimize methane emissions into the atmosphere and utilize the captured gas for economic purposes to the maximum extent, said Włodzimierz Hereźniak – President of the Management Board of Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa.
Capture of gas from the mine methane drainage system improves the energy efficiency and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. - Rock mass methane drainage is one of our strategic technical processes as it is the most effective method of combating the methane hazard. Currently the effectiveness of methane drainage in our mines is slightly higher than 30 percent. Thanks to pre-mining methane drainage, we have an opportunity to increase the volume of captured gas, explains Artur Dyczko, Vice-President for Strategy and Development at JSW.
The cooperation of JSW and PGNiG takes place under the Geo-Metan program aimed at development of methods and techniques for pre-mining extraction of methane from coal seams. The two companies signed a letter of intent in this matter in January 2018. The signatories included also Tauron Polska Energia SA and Polska Grupa Górnicza.
The works will be conducted in the Budryk Coal Mine. The deposit is located in the area of Ornontowice, Gierałtowice, Mikołów, Orzesze and Czerwionka-Leszczyny.
Regardless of the cooperation with JSW under the Geo-Metan project, PGNiG currently conducts works associated with making drillings in the Ruda Coal Mine, Bielszowice Section, owned by Polska Grupa Górnicza.
