Thar Coal Project

Submitted by: M Usman Khalid

Noman Nadeem Hashmi
 Introduction
The Thar coalfield is located in Thar Desert,
Tharparkar District of Sindh province in Pakistan.
The deposits - 134th largest coal reserves in the
world were discovered in 1991 by Geological
Survey of Pakistan (GSP) and the United State
Agency for International Development.
Its estimated capacity is 175 billion tons.
Its proper utilization will solve the power shortage
problem of Pakistan for the next 300 years. It will
also make Pakistan a power exporting country to
the tune of 70,000 MW
 Feasibility
According to reports, 80,000 megawatts is being
produced through underground coal gasification
in different countries of the world, including South
Africa, Australia, China, Russia, Poland, Czech
Republic and Uzbekistan.
Coal gas, which is a combustible gas, was
traditionally used as a source of energy for
municipal lighting and heat before the advent of
industrial-scale production of natural gas.
Cheap energy provider
The feasibility study conducted by John T. Boyd &
Co. of USA has confirmed mineability and
suitability of Lakhra coal for power generation.
 Dr Samar Mubarak Mand
Dr. Samar Mubarak Mand is a Pakistani nuclear physicist,
who served as the founding chairman of National
Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM) from 2001
until 2007. Samar Mubarak Mand launched the Missile
Integration Programme in 1987 which was successfully
completed in 2005. A pioneer of Fluid and Aerodynamics in
Pakistan, Mand earned renowned internationally in May
1998, when he headed the team of academic scientists
which carried out the country's first and successful nuclear
tests, Codename Chagai-I on May 28 and Codename Chagai-
II on May 30 in Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Of 2010,
currently, Dr. Samarkand Mubarak Mand is supervising coal
mining practiced on scientific lines, for the Thar Coal Power
Project.
Coal Gasification Process
Coal gasification is the process of
producing coal gas, a mixture of
carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen
(H2), carbon dioxide (CO2) and
water vapor (H2O)from coal.
This coal gas can then be used as
a heating element in thermal
power plants to generate
electricity
 Political Situation
Sources told that certain bureaucratic lobbies are
using all their forces to shrink the allocation for the
coal gasification project in the upcoming financial
year 2013.
The audit team that visited the site revealed that
no work has been done on Thar coal gasification
project, Shahid Sattar told The Express Tribune. He
added the project has failed.
Dr Samar Mubarak retaliated by saying that they
have completed the first phase and coal gasification
has been achieved and the gas had been burning
for 4 months and was shut down to save gas