New Delhi, Sep 23, 2022, By Special Correspondent

New Delhi, Sep 23: Easing the way for setting up of coal-to-chemical projects through Surface Coal Gasification (SCG) route, Coal India Limited (CIL), under the aegis of Ministry of Coal, will be inking three major Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU) on September 27.

The CIL will be joining hands with three other major PSUs of the country -- Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and GAIL (India) for setting up four SCG projects, an official release said here Friday.

Through 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 are reduced forex outgo and direct and indirect employment generation to the tune of 23,000.

With the twin objectives of self-reliance and energy independence, Ministry of Coal has set a target for achieving 100 million tonne coal gasification by 2030.