CIL, a state-owned company, will enter into agreements with three public sector companies: Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), and GAIL (India) to establish four surface gasification projects.
Coal is gasified to produce syngas, a fuel gas that can be used in the downstream production of value-added chemicals.
The government aims to achieve 100 million tonnes of coal gasification in the next eight years in order to reduce the import of crude oil which is otherwise used to produce syngas.
“Coal India Limited (CIL), under the aegis of Ministry of Coal, will be inking three major Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU) on September 27,” the coal ministry said in a statement. The proposed projects would reduce forex outgo and create around 23,000 jobs, it said.
The government previously stated that the target of gasifying 100 million tonnes of coal by 2030 will necessitate an investment of more than Rs 4 lakh crore. According to the government, the 100 MT coal gasification will take place in three stages.
Gasification will take place in three stages
In the first phase from 2020-2024, 4 million tonnes (MT) of coal will be gasified and around Rs 20,000 crore will be invested for the same.
6 MT of coal will be gasified in the second phase, from 2020 to 2026, at a cost of Rs 30,000 crore.
90 MT of coal will be gasified in the third phase, which will run from 2022 to 2030, with an investment of Rs 3.6 lakh crore.
