Ambani's Rs 2.7 lakh cr underground bet can save India
Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries has proposed a massive Rs 2.73 lakh crore investment over 30 years to build an underground coal gasification complex in Andhra Pradesh, India. This move aims to extract more value from the country's coal resources while reducing dependence on imported gas and chemical feedstocks. The project is still in its early stages, with exploration and pilot work planned for 2026-2027.
If successful, Reliance will invest Rs 1.2 lakh crore in development during 2028-30 and Rs 1.5 lakh crore in the production phase from 2030 onwards. The project involves two coal blocks - Chintalapudi and Recherla - with an estimated 3.13 billion tonnes of coal, located over half a kilometre underground. Underground coal gasification (UCG) involves drilling wells into the coal seam and injecting an oxidizing agent like air or steam to convert the coal into a gas through chemical reactions.
This gas, primarily syngas, can be processed into various industrial products like hydrogen, methanol, ammonia, synthetic natural gas, and synthetic fuels. For India, this project could help reduce its vulnerability to external energy shocks by providing domestic sources of gas, hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, and reducing gas for other industrial applications.
Written by urgent.news from The Economic Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
