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To: Dennis Roth who wrote (1123)	3/13/2008 7:06:26 AM
From: Dennis Roth	Respond to of 1740

Tata-Sasol CTL project may get the go-ahead Special Correspondent hindu.com Consortium asked to spell out the technology roadmap NEW DELHI: The Central Government is likely to give its go-ahead for the allocation of coal blocks for the proposed Tata-Sasol project that aims at converting coal into liquid fuel. The consortium has been asked to spell out the technology roadmap for this innovative venture. Sasol, a leading South African company, had decided to enter the Indian market and joined hands with the Tatas to introduce this cost-effective new technology. The move is aimed at enhancing the country’s energy security as India has a huge stockpile of coal, while it remains dependent on imports for liquid fuels. Official sources said an inter-ministerial group headed by the Planning Commission member (Energy), Kirit Parekh, had already asked the Tata-Sasol joint venture to set out the technology roadmap. The coal-to-liquid (CTL) concept got a major impetus when the three-member Investment Commission, headed by Ratan Tata, recommended CTL as a feasible technology for India. Sources said assessments indicated that though there was a loss of energy in the conversion process, the loss was made up in energy terms.

To: Dennis Roth who wrote (1123)	3/17/2008 6:56:02 AM
From: Dennis Roth	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1740

Tata-Sasol's 8 bln usd coal-to-oil project cleared by Indian govt - report 03.17.08, 2:25 AM ET forbes.com MUMBAI (Thomson Financial) - The Indian government has cleared the 8 bln usd coal-to-liquid (CTL) project of the Tata Group and South African partner Sasol, the Financial Express reported citing unnamed sources. It said the joint venture between India's salt-to-software Tata Group and Sasol (nyse: SSL - news - people ), the world's largest producer of oil from coal, has got the nod from an inter-ministerial group. The report added that the project does not seek any tax concession/subsidy from the government or protection from the market risk of oil prices falling below a certain level. Tata has sought access to 30 mln tonnes of coal per year to produce 3 mln barrels of oil and 1,500 mw of power for the CTL project. TFN.newsdesk@thomson.com ach/jro/ra --- Nod for $8bn Tata-Sasol project Anupama Airy Posted online: Monday , March 17, 2008 at 0102 hrs IST financialexpress.com New Delhi, Mar 16 India’s first coal-to-liquid (CTL) project rolls off. An inter-ministerial group (IMG) has cleared the $8-billion (Rs 32,000 crore) CTL project of the Tata group and its partner Sasol of South Africa, the world’s largest producer of oil from coal. This will pave the way for similar projects awaiting government clearance, including one by Reliance Industries Ltd. Significantly, unlike its earlier proposal, the Tata-Sasol project does not seek any tax concession/ subsidy from the government or protection from the market risk of oil prices falling below a certain level. Officials said the Tata-Sasol project got clearance on February 27 from IGP chairman Dr Kirit Parikh, who is also a member (energy) of the Planning Commission. The project has now been recommended for coal block allocation by the ministry of coal. The Tata group has sought access to 30 million tonnes per annum of black diamond for producing 3 million barrels of oil and 1,500 mw of power for the CTL project. For the CTL plant in India, Sasol will use the Fischer Tropsch technology, which converts the syngas, extracted from coal into oil, which in turn can be refined to produce diesel, naphtha, jet fuel, LPG and lubricants. The project would save over $25 billion for the exchequer through crude import substitution. The IMG earlier had reservations over the significant energy penalty implicit in the conversion process. Sources said a calculation circulated in the last IMG meeting showed that in financial terms, the cost of import is tilted in favour of coal at the level of prices for coal and oil prevailing in the international market in late 2007 ($80/tonne and $100 a barrel, respectively). It was pointed out in the IMG meeting that the financial advantage would remain valid even if the CIF price of oil fell to $50 a barrel and the CIF price of imported coal remained at $80 a tonne. “The chairman of IMG argued that while there is a loss of energy in terms of domestic coal, the loss is made up as it is likely to be financially cheaper to convert domestic coal to liquids and import an equivalent quantity of coal instead. Thus, the domestic availability of energy would be the same or more and there is no energy penalty,” said a senior official.

To: Dennis Roth who wrote (1123)	4/17/2008 6:30:27 AM
From: Dennis Roth	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1740

Govt mulls allocating blocks for Tata-Sasol to Liquid project 17 Apr, 2008, 1515 hrs IST, PTI economictimes.indiatimes.com NEW DELHI: The Coal Ministry is examining the proposal of allocating coal blocks for Tata-Sasol Coal to Liquid project at an estimated cost of $6-8 billion. "The Inter-Ministerial Group of the Planning Commission has recommended the proposal of Tata-Sasol Coal to Liquid project and recommended for consideration of the Coal Ministry for alloting coal blocks," Minister of State for Coal Santosh Bagrodia told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply to a query. Tata is partnering with Sasol company of South Africa for establishing coal to liquid facility for 3.6 million tonne per annum of oil and oil products, he said. Besides, companies like Reliance Industries, Essar, Jindal Steel and Power Limited and Adani Group have also indicated their interests to pursue coal to oil projects. However, these proposals do not contain details of costing, capacity. "The subject of conversion of coal to oil is under examination of the Ministry of Coal," he added.

To: Dennis Roth who wrote (1123)	4/19/2008 6:15:54 AM
From: Dennis Roth	Respond to of 1740

Coal-to-oil plan may lose ground to power projects 19 Apr, 2008, 0504 hrs IST,Rajat Guha & Subhash Narayan, TNN economictimes.indiatimes.com NEW DELHI: The government’s ambitious programme to convert coal into oil taking advantage of the surge in global crude prices seems to have hit a roadblock. Sharp differences have arisen in the inter-ministerial group (IMG) set up to draw the roadmap for initiating projects to commercialise coal-to-oil projects. This is likely to delay clearance of projects proposed by the Tatas, RIL, Essar, Jindal Steel & Power and Adani group, all of whom had shown interest in coal liquefaction projects that have become viable with higher global crude oil prices. “The coal-to-oil project seems to have been put on the backburner by the government. Dissent notes have been circulated within the IMG opposing the liquefaction projects, particularly that of Tatas in collaboration with South African company, Sasol. There is a feeling that coal should be reserved for use by the power sector rather than being offered for projects that puts it to unproductive usage without aiding the country’s energy security,” an official source said. The liquefaction project ran into trouble when IMG met to consider the Tata-Sasol project. While IMG chairman Kirit Parikh is understood to have favoured the project, some members have issued a dissent note. With the country’s first liquefaction project in a limbo, it is unlikely that other applications would be considered by the government. On its part, the coal ministry has asked Central Mine Planning & Design Institute (CMPDI), a subsidiary of Coal India (CIL), to identify coal blocks for allotment to companies interested in coal-to-oil projects. The organisation is believed to have identified a few sites but it has not been officially communicated. Permission has been granted to coal ministry for allocating blocks for liquefaction and coal gasification projects. The proposed Tata-Sasol project aims to invest $6-8 billion in putting up coal mining and liquefaction facilities. It proposes to establish coal-to-liquid facility for 3.6 million tonnes per year of oil and oil products. By going standards, this would require 12-15 million tonnes of coal annually. Such quantity of coal could support a coal-based ultra mega power project (UMPP) of the size of 4,000 mw. It is estimated the country has coal reserves of 250 billion tonnes and proven reserves of 93 billion tonnes. With the country’s 80-90% of future power projects coming up on coal, the fuel could hardly be spared for liquefaction projects that have yet to become popular even globally. The coal-to-oil projects are resurfacing as high crude oil prices in the global market (over $100 a barrel) have made the capital- and technology-intensive operations feasible. The oil generated from the process could cost $50-55 a barrel, making it cheaper than imported oil.

To: Dennis Roth who wrote (1123)	5/10/2008 8:02:52 AM
From: Dennis Roth	Respond to of 1740

Coal to liquid tech may have to wait 6 May, 2008, 0519 hrs IST, TNN economictimes.indiatimes.com KOLKATA: South Africa’s Sasol, Tatas, Reliance, the Ruias of Essar, Jindal Steel & Power and the Adani Group may have evinced an interest in getting into ‘coal to liquid’ (CTL) projects in India, but the Union coal ministry isn’t too keen on allocating coal blocks to these entities. Surging global oil prices have made CTL projects viable and a number of large groups are keen to enter the field. Minister of state for coal Santosh Bagrodia said in Orissa on Monday: “We are not too keen on CTL projects in India. We should not attach too much priority to these projects since we first need to extract enough coal to meet national demands. Only after doing that can we consider projects like CTL.” A viable coal liquefaction project requires at least 20 million tonne of coal per year and Coal India — the country’s largest coal supplier — is not yet in a position to offer coal after meeting its demand from existing customers and thermal power plants. Interestingly, the inter-ministerial group of the Planning Commission had recently forwarded the proposal of Tata-Sasol CTL project to the coal ministry for block allocation. According to the report, the main argument raised is that India’s coal resources should be reserved for use by the power sector rather than being offered for projects that put it to “unproductive usage without aiding the country’s energy security,” the ministry feels. Being India’s coal mining monopoly, officials from Sasol and Reliance met CIL officials last year for discussions. Out of the 253 billion tonne of total coal reserves estimated by Geological Survey of India (GSA), Orissa accounts for 60.98 billion tonne — as much as 24.60%. The largest coalfields are also located at Talcher and IB Valley. Talcher’s reserves are approximately 64% of the total in Orissa. However, CIL is not sure about these project proposals since CTL is a new technology requiring vast quantity of coal. “Such a project will require 20 million tonne of coal every year, supplying which, currently, will turn out to be a daunting task for CIL,” said a senior CIL official. “At present, CIL’s entire annual coal production is tied up through linkages and we need to supply that on a priority basis. We cannot supply 20 mt for a coal-to-oil venture from our existing mines unless some of our existing clients withdraw their linkage and coal becomes available for supply to other projects. Linkages are granted by the coal ministry and as long as there is one, we have to supply coal to parties who have been awarded the linkage. This will require new mines with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore,” the official said.

To: Dennis Roth who wrote (1123)	5/29/2008 7:22:43 AM
From: Dennis Roth	Respond to of 1740

Fillip for Tata fuel project telegraphindia.com JAYANTA ROY CHOWDHURY New Delhi, May 28: The government has identified three coal blocks for the Tata project to produce diesel from coal in a collaboration with South Africa’s Sasol. Central Mine Planning & Design Institute Ltd, a consultancy firm and a subsidiary of Coal India Limited, has zeroed in on three blocks in Orissa’s Talcher valley — Srirampur, Radhikapur and Ramachandi — which have 8.5 billion tonnes of coal reserves. However, officials said only one of the blocks would be given for the pilot project as the coal requirement for the venture is much lower at 1.5 billion tonnes. With crude oil prices rising as high as $135 a barrel, the government, which had at one stage indicated that the coal-to-diesel project was not a priority, is probably once again waking up to the need to have a pilot project. Officials said the Tatas were expected to invest about $6-7 billion in the project and would require around 1.5 billion tonnes of coal over a 40-year period. Though the blocks have been identified, it would take considerable time before they could be awarded as there may be counter claims from steel makers and power producers who have been demanding coal blocks from the government. The Srirampur block is over 55 square kilometre and has gross reserves of 3.03 billion tonnes. The block west of Radhikapur is also over 55 square kilometre and has reserves of 4.1 billion tonnes, while the Ramachandi block covers 16 square kilometre and has reserves of 1.5 billion tonnes. Waiting in the wings with applications for similar projects are big players such as Reliance, Adani, Essar and Jindal. The Tatas had shown interest some two years back and submitted a detailed project. Two months back an inter-ministerial group led by Planning Commission member Kirit Parekh had recommended the project after studying its cost effectiveness and other parameters. The panel decided to clear the project based on a coal price of $80 a tonne and after the Tatas said they would not seek any subsidy or tax breaks for the pilot project. The officials said the others have not submitted details of their plans. The Centre had last year approved the allocation of coal blocks to produce diesel. Under Indian laws, coal mines can only be allocated to state-run coal miners and private sector companies for captive use. These are mainly steel, cement and power firms. The Tata-Sasol combine is likely to use the Fischer Tropsch technology, which converts syngas, extracted from coal, into oil. This can be refined to produce diesel, naphtha, jet fuel, cooking gas and lubricants.

To: Dennis Roth who wrote (1123)	6/6/2008 6:06:03 AM
From: Dennis Roth	Respond to of 1740

Panel to speed up coal-to-liquid projects Pranbihanga Borpuzari Posted online: Thursday , June 05, 2008 at 2326 hrs IST financialexpress.com New Delhi, Jun 4 The government has constituted an inter-ministerial group (IMG) on coal-to-liquid (CTL) projects to ensure speedy allocation of coal blocks. This will not only iron out any differences involving various ministries and but would also evolve better guidelines for the technology. The IMG is expected to undertake detailed scrutiny of applications, It will evaluate the applications received for allocation of coal blocks and will obtain feedback from stakeholders. The IMG will additionally make recommendations to the government and allocate coal on the basis of relative merit the received application. It will also monitor the progress of CTL projects and will also be suggest changes in the guidelines. IMG has been given the right to invite experts for its assistance and the ministry of coal will provide the secretarial assistance to IMG. The Government had notified production of syn-gas obtained trough coal gasification (underground or surface) and coal liquefaction to be end use for the purpose of captive mining on July 2007. However, after that the government has been quite passive in allocating coal blocks to interested private parties. South Africa’s Sasol, Tatas have evinced an interest in getting into CTL projects in India, but the Coal ministry is not too keen on allocating coal blocks to these entities. Tata-Sasol venture is likely to use Sasol’s patented Fischer Tropsch technology, which converts syn-gas, extracted from coal, into oil. This can be refined to produce diesel, naphtha, jet fuel, cooking gas and lubricants A viable coal liquefaction project requires at least 20 million tonne of coal per year. ”Coal India Ltd is not in a position to get into CTL. It has to first cater to the demands of sectors like power and cement. Private players are free to venture into CTL, but we do not see much viability of the process since the price of obtaining liquid from coal and prices of oil itself will not be very different,” said an official from the coal ministry. In past there were delays in the allocating coal blocks. The IMG will iron out the differences and enable speedy allocation of coal blocks, he added. Member (energy) Planning Commission will be the chairman of the IMG Which will also constitute members from the department of expenditure (ministry of finance), department of industrial policy and promotion (ministry of commerce and industry), department of science and technology, ministry of petroleum and natural gas, and ministry of coal.

To: Dennis Roth who wrote (1123)	6/8/2008 5:00:09 PM
From: Dennis Roth	Respond to of 1740

Big-ticket bids to hot up CTL project Anupama Airy Posted online: Monday , June 09, 2008 at 2359 hrs IST financialexpress.com New Delhi , Jun 8 Country’s top corporate houses including the Tatas, Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Group, the Jindals along with the Adani Group and others will now have to compete and outbid each other to secure rights for a cluster of coal blocks—with estimated reserves of about 1.5 billion tonne—for their proposed $8 billion coal-to-liquid (CTL) project in India. With the soaring cost of crude oil, currently close to $130 a barrel, there has been a huge rush of proposals from big corporate houses for coal block for setting up a coal-to-liquid project. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, as the minister in-charge of coal, has approved setting up of one coal-to-liquid (CTL) project in the country. Singh has directed the ministry of coal to invite fresh expression of interests (EOIs) for allotment of identified coal blocks for setting up a CTL project. As per the ministry of coal estimates, coal reserves of about 1 to 1.5 billion tonne are required to produce 3.5 million tonne oil & oil products. The block/cluster of these coal blocks should enable mining operations of 28-31 million tonne run-of-mine coal per annum for 30 years. The estimated investment for setting up such a project is in the range of $6 billion to $8 billion. The Tatas were the first to announce a technology tie-up with South Africa’s Sasol for setting up a CTL project, followed by Reliance, Jindal’s and Adani’s submitting similar proposals along with the details of their respective technology partners. The inter ministerial group (IMG), headed by the member (energy) planning commission Kirit Parikh, had even approved the proposal of the Tatas for being allotted a suitable coal block for the CTL project. However, the directive from the PM to the coal ministry on May 24 clearly says, “Parties who have already put in unsolicited proposals may be advised to apply afresh in terms of the notice inviting applications”. This means that all these Companies, including the Tatas and the Reliance Group, will have to submit fresh applications for securing suitable coal blocks. “The EoIs should be evaluated by the IMG and its recommendations provided to the coal ministry for making allotments,” said the PM’s directive to the coal ministry. Sources said the pre-qualification criteria had been finalised in consultation with the member energy, Planning Commission, also the chairman of the IMG. The eligibility criteria says the applicant company should have a minimum net worth of $1 billion or Rs 4,000 crore, besides having a tie-up with the proven technology providers. A senior coal ministry official said the process of finalising norms for block allocation was through. Last date of receipt of applications is July 18.

To: Dennis Roth who wrote (1123)	7/23/2008 1:57:08 PM
From: Dennis Roth	Respond to of 1740

Tatas, RIL bid for coal-to-oil blocks Shaleen Agrawal/ DNA MONEY Tuesday, 22 July , 2008, 08:53 Last Updated: Tuesday, 22 July , 2008, 09:18 sify.com New Delhi: India’s largest private sector companies, including the Tata group and Reliance Industries, have applied for allocation of captive coal blocks for converting coal into liquid fuels such as petrol, diesel, naphtha, jet fuel and LPG. The ministry has put on offer three coal blocks in Orissa with combined estimated reserves of six billion tonnes — one block with 3 billion tonnes, and the other two blocks with 1.5 billion tonnes each for coal-to-liquid (CTL) projects. The other applicants include Indiabulls, GMR, Videocon Industries and Indian Oil Corporation. Many other companies with experiences in mining sector, like steel and power producers, are also learnt to have applied. Reliance Industries had earlier proposed an $8 billion investment plan to the government to establish a CTL project and sought coal mines with reserves of about 1.5 billion tonnes for it. It had said the plant will have a capacity to produce 80,000 barrels of oil a day. South Africa’s Sasol, the world’s largest producer of liquid fuels from coal, had also evinced interest in establishing $8 billion CTL project in India in collaboration with the Tata group to produce about 80,000 barrels of oil per day, and had asked for similar coal mines. An inter-ministerial group, with representations from the Planning Commission, ministries of finance, coal, commerce, petroleum and natural gas, and others, is now expected to examine the proposals. Earlier last month, the coal ministry had invited applications for allocation of captive coal blocks for CTL projects, and had asked the companies that had earlier made unsolicited applications to apply afresh. The company that is allocated the block with 3 billion tonnes reserves, however, will be allowed mining only up to 1.5 billion tonnes of coal in line with the requirements of such projects. The remaining coal would be later used for other purposes. A 1.5 billion tonne coal blockcluster of blocks “should enable mining operations of 28-31 million tonnes of run-of-mine coal per annum for 30 years,” the ministry had earlier said on its website. Both, Reliance and Tatas, are learnt to have applied for allocation of all the three blocks on offer. Coal liquefaction and underground coal gasification were allowed as permissible end-uses for allocation of captive blocks in August last year.