Coal India Limited (CIL) to sign agreements with three major PSUs (public sector undertakings), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and GAIL (India) next week to set up four Surface Coal Gasification (SCG) projects.
As per an official statement released by the Ministry of Coal on Friday, the Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU) among the government-run firms will be signed on September 27, 2022, in New Delhi.
These PSUs will join hands for setting up of coal-to-chemical projects through the Surface Coal Gasification (SCG) route.
Through the SCG route coal is converted into syngas that can be subsequently processed for downstream production of value-added chemicals. These are otherwise produced through imported natural gas or crude oil. Envisaged end products would be di-methyl ether, synthetic natural gas, and ammonium nitrate.
The upside of the proposed projects would reduce foreign outflow and direct and indirect employment generation to the tune of 23,000, said the Ministry of Coal in the statement. With the twin objectives of self-reliance and energy independence, the Ministry of Coal has set a target for achieving 100 million tonnes of coal gasification by 2030, it said.
