China Petrochemical Corp has made a breakthrough in deep coalbed methane exploration in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality after years of exploitation, the company, the world's largest refiner by volume, said on Wednesday.

The deep coalbed methane well Jingyang-2 in Nanchuan district of Chongqing has achieved 100 days of spontaneous flow production, with daily gas production stable at 12,000 cubic meters and cumulative gas production of 1.2 million cubic meters, a breakthrough in deep coalbed methane exploitation in the region, said the company, also known as Sinopec.

China is rich in coalbed methane resources, with broad prospects for deep coalbed methane development. However, due to the complex geological conditions, including high ground stress, the development is still in the early stage of exploration, it said.

The company vows to steadily advance the research on coalbed methane and realize scale development to further ensure domestic energy safety.

zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn