Thar Coal and Fischer-Tropsch

I posted the following link on July 02, 2008 here. Today, I read this in the New Yorker:

Even coal can be converted into liquid fuel. During the Second World War, the Nazis employed a technique called the Fischer-Tropsch process; the same process is now in use in several countries, most notably South Africa, which invested heavily in coal-to-liquids technology during the apartheid era. Build enough coal-to-liquids plants and places like Montana and West Virginia could one day become major petroleum producers. Unconventional Crude by Elizabeth Kolbert

I hope at the US conference Mr. Ashraf would consider this option also for the Thar Coal find.

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Thar coal conference in US next month

KARACHI: A round-table international conference on Thar coal project will be held in the United States next month, Federal Water and Power Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said on Tuesday.

The world’s top investors and experts in coal development and power generation have been invited to attend the conference, Ashraf told reporters after attending the cabinet’s Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) meeting at Governor’s House. He said Thar coal could help generate an unlimited amount of electricity.