- Reliance Industries and Axis Energy won bids for four coal mines with UCG provisions
- Mines are located in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, including fully and partially explored sites
- UCG technology converts coal to synthetic gas directly in the seam, avoiding mining
Reliance Industries Ltd. and Axis Energy Ventures India Pvt. were named the successful bidders for production and developments agreements connected to four coal mines, with provisions for underground coal gassification (USG), as per a release from the Centre on Tuesday.
This is the first-ever tranche of commercial coal mines in India to carry embedded provisions for UCG, the release said.
Reliance Industries secured the Recherla and Chintalpudi Sector A1 mines. Axis Energy Ventures bagged the Dip Extension of Belpahar and Tangardihi East coal mines.
These mines span across the states of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha with two being partially explored and two fully explored mines.
UCG involves converting coal into synthetic gas in situ, directly within the seam, negating the need for conventional mining.
This technology unlocks energy from deep, thin, or otherwise unworkable coal seams that traditional extraction methods cannot economically access. The is expected significantly expand India's exploitable energy resource base.
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"By integrating UCG provisions into CMDPAs for the first time, the Ministry of Coal has future-proofed these mines, enabling operators to pursue this cutting-edge pathway to cleaner and more efficient energy production alongside conventional extraction," the release said.
The syngas produced through UCG can serve as a domestic feedstock for the manufacture of urea and ammonia, significantly reducing India's dependence on imported fertilisers and strengthening food security. In the chemicals and petrochemicals sector, UCG syngas can replace imported natural gas and naphtha as a base feedstock, enabling domestic production of methanol, dimethyl ether (DME), and synthetic fuels.
With these four CMDPAs, the total number of agreements signed under commercial coal auctions reaches 138 mines, covering a peak rated capacity of 331.544 MTPA. These 138 mines are projected to generate annual revenues of approximately Rs 42,980 crore, attract capital investments of Rs 48,231 crores, and create direct and indirect employment for approximately 4,34,175 persons.
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