Judged by the preliminary reports the two Ambani brothers will bag the coal block earmarked for India's ambitious coal to liquid project. Resource Digest had analysed in depth the pros and cons of CTL in a country with coal as major energy source and which has been already facing the spectre of coal shortage. However despite the deficiencies of CTL, the government has different compulsions and seems to be going ahead with an experiment that had failed in the USA. On offer are three coal blocks at Radhikapur, Srirampur and Ramchandi Promotional coal block in Orissa. Out of 22 bids received only two, both belonging seven more companies fulfilled the networth crite to the two Ambani brothers , have met the criteria. The other companies in the bids are Tata Group firm Strategic Energy Technology Systems, Essar, Sterlite Energy, Vedanta Aluminium, Jindal Steel and Power, Vista Natural Resources and RICON Infrastructure. Tatas, Essar, Sterlite, Vedanta, Jindal Steel and VistaNatural Resources had technology tie-ups, while RICON had none. An Inter Ministerial Group (IMG) will decide if assurance letters for technology tie-ups and parent company networth would qualify a company for the CTL project. The IMG comprises Secretaries of Department of Coal, Expenditure, Industry, Science and Technology, Petroleum and Principal Adviser (Energy) of the Planning Commission. The IMG would be chaired by a member Energy of the Planning Commission.
Few bidders applied that their proposed CTL plants would have a capacity to produce 80,000 barrels of oil a day (4 million tons annually). The Ministry of Coal has offered the three coal blocks in Orissa with cumulative reserves of about six billion tons for the project. "Though there are three coal blocks on offer, only one would be actually allocated for the CTL project. Companies, however, can give their choices for the block," an official told a news agency.
Besides the Ambanis, seven firms met the minimum networth criteria including Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), GAIL India, GMR Infrastructure, Indian Oil Corp and JSW Steel. Of these, SAIL and JSW did not meet the eligibility criteria of having a collaboration or tie-up with a proven technology provider, while GAIL, GMR and IOC only furnished assurance letters from the technology provider and no documents related to MoU/agreement were provided.
Few bidders applied that their proposed CTL plants would have a capacity to produce 80,000 barrels of oil a day (4 million tons annually). The Ministry of Coal has offered the three coal blocks in Orissa with cumulative reserves of about six billion tons for the project. "Though there are three coal blocks on offer, only one would be actually allocated for the CTL project. Companies, however, can give their choices for the block," an official told a news agency.
Besides the Ambanis, seven firms met the minimum networth criteria including Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), GAIL India, GMR Infrastructure, Indian Oil Corp and JSW Steel. Of these, SAIL and JSW did not meet the eligibility criteria of having a collaboration or tie-up with a proven technology provider, while GAIL, GMR and IOC only furnished assurance letters from the technology provider and no documents related to MoU/agreement were provided.
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