China United Coalbed Methane Corp said on Monday the company's daily gas production exceeded for the first time 14 million cubic meters, up 40 percent year-on-year, ranking it as the leading coalbed methane company in the country.

The company said gas production is capable of meeting the demand of 28 million households, thanks to new discoveries of unconventional gas in the Qinshui basin in Shanxi province and Northwest China's Erdos basin. The company is a subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corp, the country's top offshore oil and gas driller.

The company has stepped up upstream production of coalbed methane, a form of natural gas extracted from coal beds, during the first half, with more efforts devoted to research and development, which in turn leads to higher efficiency of exploration development, it said.

Luo Yong, president of China United Coalbed Methane Corp, said with daily gas production increasing, the company will also push forward gas pipeline construction to step up its gas transmission capacity.

The company said last month the major section of China's longest coal bed methane pipeline, the Shanxi-Hebei section of the 623-kilometer Shenmu-Anping coal bed methane pipeline, finished construction in November.

With a total length of 548.95 kilometers and a designed annual gas transmission capacity of 5 billion cubic meters, the pipeline will help ensure the country's gas supply during the heating season, the company said.