Which projects under the SNG initiative have already received approval to date?

The demonstration projects outlined in the 12th Five-Year Plan for the deep processing of coal have not yet been approved and are still pending. . . .

No one can know; the Energy Bureau is always lying. . .

There are five projects now, but this is already old news: **The NDRC approved 5 coal-to-natural gas projects in 14 months. Author: Tong Xiaobo. Publication date: 11-15-2010. Recently, Huaneng Yimin Coal Power Company’s coal-to-natural gas project with an annual capacity of 4 billion cubic meters was approved by the NDRC.** This is the 5th coal-to-natural gas project approved by the **National Development and Reform Commission in 14 months. Over the past year, driven by **policy incentives, coal-to-natural gas projects have been launched frequently. Some domestic companies have signed investment agreements with provinces rich in coal resources; for example, in September, Lenovo Holdings entered into a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Zaozhuang City in Shandong Province, involving a total investment of 18 billion yuan, which will be used to develop coal chemical projects. However, in the view of Liu Zhiguang, deputy chief engineer at the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Planning Institute, **the regulation of coal-to-natural gas projects focuses more on social benefits rather than the economic viability of the projects themselves. Therefore, companies considering investing in coal-to-natural gas projects should avoid making impulsive investments. Projects are launched frequently; two months ago, the Qinghua Xinjiang Ili coal-to-natural gas project received approval from the **National Development and Reform Commission. The total investment in this project is 23 billion yuan, covering coal-to-synthetic natural gas production at a capacity of 5.5 billion cubic meters per year, coal tar hydrogenation at a capacity of 700,000 tons per year, synthetic ammonia production, as well as a thermal power plant for comprehensive utilization, and a cement production facility using 2 million tons of fly ash per year. The other 3 projects that have been approved are: the Datang International coal-to-natural gas project in Keshiketeng Banner, Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, with an annual production capacity of 4 billion cubic meters; the HuiNeng coal-to-natural gas project in Yijinholo Banner, Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, with an annual production capacity of 1.6 billion cubic meters; and the Datang International coal-to-natural gas project in Fuxin, Liaoning, also with an annual production capacity of 4 billion cubic meters. In addition, Huaneng Group will invest 100 billion yuan to build coal power and coal chemical energy bases in Xinjiang, as well as to develop coal-to-natural gas projects. It is worth noting that among the 5 projects that received approval, two are private enterprises: HuiNeng and QingHua. This is undoubtedly a positive sign for private enterprises that wish to engage in the development of resources at the upstream stage of the industrial chain. “ At the **level, approving coal-to-natural gas projects carried out by private enterprises is one of the ways to actively encourage such enterprises to get involved in the upstream sectors of the energy industry. ”said Liu Yijun, an expert in natural gas from China University of Petroleum. Liu Yijun believes that the diversification of investors in coal-to-natural gas projects can, on the one hand, stimulate enterprises’ enthusiasm for investment, ensure that demonstration projects are representative, and enhance the assessment of the economic viability of such projects ； On the other hand, it can make the downstream market for coal-to-natural gas more competitive, thereby facilitating the development of the industrial chain. Avoid blind investment. Among the various clean conversion methods for coal, only coal-to-natural gas conversion has an energy efficiency of over 50%. The water consumption per unit of heat value produced from coal-to-natural gas is only half that of coal-to-oil, and one-fourth that of coal-to-methanol and dimethyl ether. Compared with other coal chemical projects, coal-to-natural gas projects have lower water consumption, which is undoubtedly a significant advantage for the water-scarce but coal-rich regions in western China. Furthermore, it is estimated that in 2020, China’s demand for natural gas will be 300 billion cubic meters, while the domestic production of natural gas will amount to only 150 billion cubic meters; as a result, the country’s dependence on imported natural gas could reach 50%. For this reason, **driven by policy incentives, domestic companies with strong capabilities have launched coal-to-natural gas projects one after another.