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ONGC signs MoU with Russian institute for UCG

New Delhi : 25th November 2004

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NMRC - Skochinsky Institute of Mining (SIM), Russia for technical collaboration in Underground Coal Gasification (UCG). The MoU was signed in the presence of Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar, Hon'ble Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Panchayat Raj, Shri S C Tripathi, Secretary, MoPNG, Shri Subir Raha, Chairman & Managing Director, ONGC, senior Government officials and senior Executives of ONGC. Under the MoU ONGC and SIM will come out with a detailed work plan on underground coal gasification project in India. Further, ONGC is in the process of finalizing a MoU with Coal India Ltd., (CIL), Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd., (NLC) and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd., (GSPCL) for cooperation in developing and applying this technology in various parts of India.

Speaking on the occasion Shri Aiyar stressed that the UCG technology could be of great significance in view of large reserves of coal and lignite in India. He described the signing of MoU as a great initiative for energy security and has come within exactly 33 days from the commencement of this initiative during his visit to Russia recently. It assumes a special importance as the use of this technology has been under consideration for 33 years. UCG as an additional energy resource has great potential in India.

ONGC while drilling for hydrocarbons discovered large reserves of Coal at depth more than 600 mts. The estimated reserves can be exploited through UCG technology. Even if a fraction of it is realized, it will go a long way in meeting India's energy requirements. In Gujarat alone such coal reserves are estimated to be around 63 billion tons in Mehsana Ahmedabad block and 60 Billion tons in Patan Tharad block. The 63 billion tons in Mehsana Ahmedabad block alone is estimated to contain 15,000 BCM of natural gas which is more than 70 times the free gas reserves of ONGC.

UCG is a process to convert un-mine able underground coal/lignite into combustible gases by gasifying the coal in-situ. It is a chemical process in which coal is subjected to gasification agents namely air, oxygen and steam. The coal is converted from solid to a mixture of gases, liquids and ash by heat and chemical reactions. Produced gases are a mixture of combustible (carbon-mono-oxide, hydrogen and methane) and non-combustible gases. The gases thus produced can be utilized as fuel gas and for power generation and as a feedstock for liquid fuels and petrochemicals. The mixture of CO and H2 called, Syn-gas, is the starting point of Synthetic fuel technology. For deeper Coal seams, UCG is the only feasible technology for economic exploitation. Pilots projects world over have demonstrated the success of the technology for deeper coals.

Russia for decades has utilized UCG reactors to provide low heating value gases for local use, for industrial fuel gas and for power generation. A number of other countries like USA, UK, France, Italy, Belgium, Spain and Australia have attempted implementation of this technology. The implementation of UCG process in most of these countries has been confined to gasification of relatively shallower coal seams (generally less than 500 mts). Germany in association with Belgium conducted a field experiment to establish the feasibility of UCG at greater depths (860 mts). China has an ongoing UCG program currently underway, which uses abandoned galleries of disused coalmines for the gasification.

The present trend of widening gap between the demand and indigenous supply of energy in India is a cause of a serious concern. Under these circumstances, Coal Bed Methane (CBM) gas and gas from Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) are attractive alternative and supplementary energy sources. These sources assume importance particularly in view of enormous coal resources in India. Recent technological developments in coal extraction are opening new clean and environmentally friendly options for the future. UCG is one of them. UCG could make a significant contribution to the community's energy supply in the medium and long term.

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