The ministry of coal, in partnership with the ministry of power and natural gas, has brokered a significant joint venture agreement between Coal India Limited (CIL) and GAIL (India) Limited (GAIL). The collaboration represents a major advancement towards the establishment of a coal to synthetic natural gas (SNG) plant utilizing surface coal gasification (SCG) technology.
The plant, which will be located in the Raniganj area of Eastern Coalfields Limited, West Bengal, is projected to produce 80,000 Nm3 of SNG per hour. Annually, the production is expected to reach 633.6 million Nm3, requiring 1.9 million tons of coal, which will be supplied by CIL.
The strategic alliance between the two brands is a significant step towards the national coal gasification mission, aimed at leveraging the chemical properties of coal.
As reported by pib.gov.in, synthetic natural gas (SNG) is primarily composed of methane and serves as a key feedstock for the production of various chemicals and fertilizers. The plant is expected to secure essential raw materials and reduce the country’s dependency on imported natural gas.
