Energy Sources

Coalbed Methane

Also Known As Coal Seam Gas (CSG)

Fossil Fuel

Citation Formats

General Reference

Energy Atlas. "Coalbed Methane." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://energy.interactiveatlas.org/energy-sources/coalbed-methane.

APA Style

Energy Atlas. (n.d.). Coalbed Methane. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://energy.interactiveatlas.org/energy-sources/coalbed-methane

BibTeX

@misc{energyatlas-coalbed-methane,
  author = {Energy Atlas},
  title = {Coalbed Methane},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://energy.interactiveatlas.org/energy-sources/coalbed-methane},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

Coalbed methane is natural gas trapped within coal seams rather than in a separate reservoir rock, held there by water pressure in the coal's own pore structure until a well lowers that pressure and lets the gas desorb and flow. The U.S. Energy Information Administration counts it as a contributor to the national natural gas supply in its own right: in 2022, U.S. coalbed methane production was about 2 percent of total U.S. dry natural gas production, a minor but established share alongside shale gas and conventional wells.

Facts

Source Class

Fossil Fuel 1

First Commercial Year

1996 2

Commercial-scale extraction began in the Bowen Basin, Queensland, Australia; earlier drainage of coalbed gas for mine safety exists in several countries, but this is the earliest documented COMMERCIAL production this wave's research found.

Cross-Tradition Connections