SCCL Eyes Entry into Coal Gasification Sector
Hyderabad:Chairman of the Board and General Manager Dr. Singari Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is exploring entering the coal gasification sector as part of the State Government’s plan to transform the company into a diversified power utility, Buddhaprakash Jyoti said on Friday.
He was speaking after a meeting with Dr Srikant Nagulapalli, Director General, Hydrocarbons, at Singari Bhavan. CMD briefed him about the company’s coal gasification initiatives and preparations for new projects.
Dr Jyoti said Engineers India Limited has completed the feasibility study for 400 tonnes per day ammonium nitrate smelting plant at Singari Thermal Power Plant premises. He noted that the project’s return on investment is not yet encouraging. SCCL is exploring ways to improve vitality through higher facility capacity, vitality gap funding from the Centre, and use of indigenous technology.
A team of SCCL officials will visit major coal gasification projects, including Talcher, MCL‑BHEL and JSPL, later this month and inspect their operations. Techno-economic studies are also being carried out for surface coal gasification projects at Bheemaram, South Chennur and Naini.
On underground coal gasification, CMD said SCCL has identified five deep coal blocks in Bellampalli and Ramagundam districts as potential sites. Preparations for the first pilot project, including drilling in the Bellampalli Bottom Side Block, are ongoing. The project will proceed under the technical guidance of scientists from CMPDI and CSIR Central Institute of Mining and Fuels Research (CIMFR).
Directors LV Suryanarayana (Operations), K. Venkateswarlu (Projects and Planning) and Gowtham Potru (Personnel and Finance), general manager (Coal Movement) B. Venkanna, general manager (Coordination and Marketing) T. Srinivas, general manager (Project Planning) G. Devender, general manager (Business Development) Ramdas, general manager (R&D) Venkataramana and others attended the meeting. senior officials.
