Aditya Birla Group, Essar Oil, Adani Enterprises and Lanco Infratech are among the big names vying for Coal India’s underground coal gasification project, bids for which were opened on Wednesday.
Aditya Birla Group, Essar Oil, Adani Enterprises and Lanco Infratech are among the big names vying for Coal India’s underground coal gasification project, bids for which were opened on Wednesday.
According to a source in the Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Ltd (CMPDIL), a subsidiary of Coal India and the nodal agency conducting the bidding process for the project, as many as eight companies have put in bids.
“The major ones are the Aditya Birla Group, Essar Oil, Adani Enterprises and Lanco Infratech’s mining arm,” the source said, adding that most of the players have bid with foreign partners.
While Adani Enterprises has tied up with Australia’s Carbon Energy, Essar Oil has roped in Clean Global Energy, another Australian company.
The other four companies which have submitted bids are Nagpur-based Abhijeet Group, coal washing company Aryan Coal, mining contractor Sainik Mining and Australia-based Global UCG.
Coal India had sought expression of interest for the project from technically and financially qualified players in November 2009 and issued tenders for the same in December 2010. The last date for submission of tenders was postponed twice in the last one month at the bidders’ request.
“Being a new technology, companies had requested us to extend the bidding date from February 10 to February 28 and later to March 16,” the source said, adding that the companies needed more time to tie up with partners who had the technical expertise.
According to the tender document, Coal India had invited bids for two blocks —- the Thesgora C block located in the Pench-Kanhan coalfield in Chindwara district of Madhya Pradesh, which comes under the command area of Western Coalfields Ltd, and the Kaitha block, under Central Coalfields Ltd’s command area, which is located in the Ramgarh coalfield in Ramgarh district of Jharkhand.
The company is looking for private players with sound technical and financial strength to develop the blocks and produce gas from them for a period of 25 years. While the first two years would comprise exploration and preparing a mining plan, the next three years are assigned to run the blocks and produce gas from them on a pilot basis.
“It is difficult to say how much time it will it take to announce the final winner as currently the technical evaluation of bids are going on. After that, financial bids will be invited and then the tender committee will send its recommendations to Coal India to take a final call,” B Dayal, public relations officer, CMPDIL said.
The companies will be solely responsible for producing the gas and transporting them to the desired players.
According to the World Coal Association, underground coal gasification is a method of converting unworked coal into a combustible gas, which can be used for industrial heating, power generation or manufacture of hydrogen, synthetic natural gas (syngas) or diesel fuel.
The process involves drilling two wells into the coal. The coal at the base of the first well is then heated to temperatures that would normally cause the coal to burn. However, through careful regulation of the oxidant flow, the coal does not burn but rather separates into the syngas. The syngas is then drawn out of the second well.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}