China’s state-owned Datang Group has reportedly resumed construction on a large coal-to-gas project in Fuxin, Liaoning Province, that had been suspended for about a decade. The restart decision is reportedly driven by energy security considerations amid domestic coal oversupply and disruptions to Middle East-linked gas supply chains.
The Fuxin project was reportedly launched by Datang Group in 2011 with an investment of approximately $3.7 billion, but was suspended three years later in 2014 due to technical and environmental issues along with cost and marketability concerns. Most of the main facilities were reportedly largely completed by 2019, and the restart reportedly resumes the process of gasifying coal to produce synthetic natural gas. The company reportedly said operations resumed this fall, with commercial operation targeted for October. The original report does not specify the gasification process technology licensor, so detailed technical information could not be confirmed.
The designed annual natural gas production capacity is 4 billion standard cubic meters, with cumulative investment of RMB 23 billion (approximately KRW 4.4 trillion), reportedly making it the largest single industrial project in Fuxin’s history. The target operational timeline is reportedly October 2026.