SCCL CMD Dr. Buddhaprakash Jyoti Discusses Coal Gasification Initiatives with Dr. Srikant Nagulapalli, Director General of Hydrocarbons
HYDERABAD, JULY 11, 2026: The Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is comprehensively exploring opportunities to enter the coal gasification sector in line with the State Government’s vision of transforming the company into a diversified energy enterprise, said SCCL Chairman and Managing Director Dr. Buddhaprakash Jyoti.
During a meeting held at Singareni Bhavan on Friday evening with Dr. Srikant Nagulapalli, Director General of the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, the CMD briefed him on the initiatives being taken by SCCL in the field of coal gasification.
Speaking on the occasion, the CMD said that Engineers India Limited (EIL) had carried out a feasibility study for establishing a 400 tonnes per day Ammonium Nitrate Melt Plant at the Singareni Thermal Power Plant (STPP) premises. He noted that, at present, the project’s return on investment is not sufficiently encouraging. Therefore, SCCL is exploring various alternatives to improve the project’s viability, including enhancing the plant capacity, availing the Central Government’s Viability Gap Funding (VGF) support, and adopting indigenous technologies.
He further informed that a team of SCCL officials will visit major coal gasification projects, including Talcher, MCL–BHEL, and JSPL, later this month to study their operations. Simultaneously, techno-economic studies are also underway to assess the feasibility of surface coal gasification projects in the Bheemaram, Chennur South, and Naini areas.
With regard to Underground Coal Gasification (UCG), the CMD stated that SCCL has identified five deep coal blocks in the Bellampalli and Ramagundam regions as potential sites. Preparations are currently in progress to undertake the first pilot project in the Bellampalli Dip-side Block, including drilling operations. The project will be implemented under the technical guidance of scientists from the Central Mine Planning & Design Institute/CSIR-CIMFR.
The meeting was attended by Directors Sri. L. V. Suryanarayana (Operations), Sri. K. Venkateswarlu (Projects & Planning), and Sri. Gowtham Potru (Personnel & Finance); Executive Director (Coal Movement) Sri. B. Venkanna; General Manager (Coordination & Marketing) Sri. T. Srinivas; General Manager (Projects Planning) Sri. G. Devender; General Manager (Business Development) Sri. Ramdas; General Manager (R&D) Sri. Venkataramana, along with other senior officials.
About the Author
