GAIL & CIL Joint Venture for Coal to Synthetic Natural Gas Plant in WB

In a boost to the National Coal Gasification Mission, the two Maharatna Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSE) Coal India Limited (CIL) and GAIL (India) Limited (GAIL) have set up a joint venture to establish a Coal-to-Synthetic Natural Gas plant.

The agreement was signed between the two CPSEs in the presence of M. Nagaraju, Additional Secretary, Coal in New Delhi.

India is the second-largest coal producer in the world after China, and it has an estimated coal reserve of 361411.46 million tonnes.

Recently, Eastern Coalfields Limited launched a pilot project for in situ underground coal gasification at the Kasta coal block in Jamtara District, Jharkhand.

Location of the Coal to Synthetic Natural Gas Plant

The Coal-to-Synthetic Natural Gas plant will be built in the Raniganj coal field area of West Bengal. 

The Raniganj coalfield is India’s first and oldest commercial coal field, which started production in 1774. The Raniganj coalfield is under Eastern Coalfields Limited, a subsidiary of Coal India Limited. 

The plant will produce  80000 Nm3 per hour of Synthetic Natural Gas, with an annual production capacity of  633.6 Million Nm3 per hour.

The plant is expected to consume 1.9 million tonnes of coal. Coal India Limited will provide the coal, while GAIL will operate the technology and the plant.

Coal gasification 

Coal gasification is a thermo-chemical process in which coal is converted into synthetic gases by using water, air or oxygen at a very high temperature.

Synthetic gases consist of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen, and water vapour, as well as small amounts of other gases and particles. 

Benefits of the Coal to Synthetic Natural Gas Plant

• The plant will reduce India’s dependency on imported natural gas.
• Natural gas mainly consists of methane, which is an important raw material for fertiliser plants and various chemical industries.
• This plant will provide a guaranteed raw material to the user industries.
• The gas can be used for power generation.  
• It will help conserve foreign exchange as the import of natural gas, fertilisers etc is likely to be reduced.

National Coal Gasification Mission 

• The government of India launched the  National Coal Gasification Mission in 2020.
• It aims to convert 100 million tonnes of coal into natural gas by 2030.
• The mission is part of the government of India’s plan to achieve energy independence by 2027.