Digging in: a Chinese coal miner takes a break
Xinjiang coal-to-gas plan on table
A project to convert coal to gas in China's northwest Xinjiang region has won preliminary state approval to eventually produce 5.5 billion cubic metres of gas a year, according to reports.
The plant, to be built in Yining county, will pump output into China's largest natural gas pipeline which connects Xinjiang to the country's east coast, CBI China reported.
Inner Mongolia-based Qinghua Group will be the main investor in the plant. Plans envision the facility being built in three phases, with the first phase, which will have a capacity of 1.375 Bcm, scheduled to start up in July next year, CBI quoted company officials as saying.
The project, which will source coal from a nearby mine at the Yili valley, needs Beijing's final approval. The report did not provide an investment estimate.
China has so far approved only a handful of coal-to-gas projects, mostly in the coal-rich northern region of Inner Mongolia.
