India's Reliance Group Proposes INR 2.73 Trillion Investment in 30-Year Underground Coal Gasification Project

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has submitted an investment proposal to the Andhra Pradesh government, planning a cumulative investment of approximately INR 2.73 trillion (about 2.73 trillion Indian rupees) over 30 years to build India's first integrated underground coal gasification (UCG) complex in the Eluru district.

The project intends to utilize the Chintalapudi and Recherla coal blocks, which Reliance recently acquired through an electronic auction conducted by India's Ministry of Coal. The two blocks together hold over 3.13 billion tonnes of coal resources, with the Chintalapudi block spanning approximately 3,000 acres with reserves of 904.94 million tonnes (G-12 grade), and the Recherla block covering approximately 5,500 acres with reserves of 2,225.67 million tonnes (G-13 grade). With coal seams buried at depths exceeding 600 meters, conventional open-cast or underground mining is economically unviable.

The project will be executed in three phases. The exploration and pilot phase is scheduled from Q3 2026 to Q4 2027, with an investment cap of INR 30 billion. Upon confirmation of technical validation and commercial viability, the development phase (2028–2030) is proposed to invest INR 1.2 trillion, followed by an additional INR 1.5 trillion investment during the production phase (from 2030 onward).

UCG technology converts deep coal directly into syngas underground, which can be used to produce hydrogen, methanol, ammonia, synthetic natural gas, and a variety of industrial chemicals. The project is expected to create 3,000 to 5,000 direct jobs, along with 20,000 to 35,000 indirect and induced employment opportunities.

The proposal directly supports India's National Coal Gasification Mission, which aims to achieve 100 million tonnes of coal gasification capacity by 2030. Of India's approximately 360 billion tonnes of coal resources, nearly 160 billion tonnes cannot be extracted through conventional methods due to excessive burial depth, and UCG technology offers an alternative pathway for utilizing these resources.