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==Coalbed methane==
[[Coalbed methane]] (CBM), also known as coal seam gas (abbreviated "CSG"), is a type of [[natural gas]] extracted from coal beds. It is formed by the geological process of heating and compressing plant matter to create coal. Over millions of years, methane forms within the coal. The methane is trapped by water in the gaps and cracks between the coal molecules. These gaps are known as cleats. [[Coal seam gas projects in Australia|Australia]] has been found to have many deposits, and is increasingly mining them through [[hydraulic fracturing]], also known as [[fracking]]. In recent decades, CBM has become an increasingly used source of energy in Australia, as well as the United States, Canada, and other countries.<ref name="bg">{{cite web|url=http://www.bg-group.com/Careers/graduates/howtoapply/Pages/JargonBuster.aspx|title=Jargon Buster|publisher=BG Group|accessdate=18 July 2010}}</ref>
==Biogenic methane production==
Companies are looking into stimulating methane production for energy use. As of May 2010, Luca Technologies is working on a large scale pilot program in an old natural gas field west of Gillette, Wyoming, on a process called “biogenic methane production.” The process involves gravity feeding water and what the company calls “nutrients” down old methane wells to stimulate the native microbes in the coal seams to multiply and produce methane at an accelerated rate. Many believe it took millions of years for the microbes to make the methane now being extracted in the basin. Luca researchers think that with a little help, the microbes can make enough to extract methane at a profit in only a few years.<ref name="luca">Steve McManamen, [http://gillettenewsrecord.com/articles/2010/05/17/news/yesterday/news03.txt "Luca says natural gas industry is alive and well ... literally"] gillettenewsrecord.net, May 17, 2010.</ref>
In 2001, Luca started work on the idea of biogenic methane production in its lab in Golden, Colorado. After years of study, the company began an initial pilot program near Sheridan with 100 wells in 2006. In 2008, the company bought 529 old wells west of Gillette from Kennedy Oil and added them to the roster. Luca bought another 725 former Devon Energy wells in the same area. With more than 1,350 wells, Luca believes it can grow methane on a commercial scale in the [[Powder River Basin]].<ref name="luca"/>
==Methane and coal mining explosions==
