Coal India Ltd has floated an open global tender inviting bids for setting up a coal to methanol (C2M) plant through surface coal gasification route on Build-Own-Operate (BOO) model.

The CIL-owned Dankuni Coal Complex (DCC) in West Bengal, currently run by its subsidiary South Eastern Coalfields Ltd, will be the project site for the proposed C2M plant. The tender to select the BOO operator for the life span of the plant, which is expected to be 25 years, was floated based on the outcome of pre-feasibility studies conducted by CIL.

“This is a part of implementing the methanol economy programme of the government aimed at reducing the country’s oil import bill,” said a senior executive of CIL.

The capital outlay of the entire plant is pegged at around ₹6,000 crore. The BOO operators would own and lease the plant, apart from designing, building, maintaining, producing and storing the product. However, CIL would allocate the land, power, water to the operator for the proposed plant. The land is already available.

Project Developments India Limited (PDIL), the government-owned consultancy and engineering CPSE, has been retained as the consultant for the selection of the BOO operator.

Focus on domestic production

The plant is expected to produce about 6.76 lakh tonne of methanol per annum which can be used for blending with petrol up to 15 per cent. At this capacity, the plant will cater to the methanol requirement of four Eastern states - West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand and Bihar.

While the mechanical setup of the plant is expected to be completed in the next 36 months, the actual commissioning of the plant is envisaged to be in 41 months. The last date for the submission of bids is December 17.

CIL is in dialogue with Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) and other government-owned oil companies for long term tie up for assured marketing of methanol.

CIL will also supply the low ash high calorific coal of Ranigunj coalfields, having an ash content of around 24 per cent, as basic raw material for the production of 2,050 metric tonnes of methanol per day. The company would meet around 1.5 million tonne of coal requirement annually.

The setting up of the plant is in line with CIL’s effort to align itself with the national objective of reducing dependence on imported crude. It would also reposition coal as chemical feedstock from that of a conventional energy product resulting in a considerable decrease of carbon footprint.

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