State-owned Coal India (CIL) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) have agreed to form a joint venture for a coal gassification project."I had a meeting with ONGC chairman Subir Raha on January 12 to have a first hand discussion on the project," Coal India chairman Sashikumar said.An MoU for the project was under formulation in which CIL and ONGC would have equal participation both in terms of investment and benefits, he said, adding an initial investment of Rs 50 crore would be required for the project.It has also been decided that the share of CIL for the land used and the coal resources utilised for the technology would be decided mutually later, Sashikumar said.Coal India, in association with ONGC, has decided to set up an in-situ coal gassification technology in the country, which would pave the way for additional generation of power from gas produced from coal.The technology would be used in an area where coal mining might not be cost effective due to various geo-mining difficulties.
