New York-based Leucadia’s proposed US$2.65 billion, 48 billion cubic feet/year “Indiana Gasification” synthetic natural gas (SNG) plant provoked both supporters and opponents to express their opinions at an Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) public hearing January 25 on IDEM’s draft air emissions permit.

Foster Wheeler announced January 31 that it won a project management consultancy (PMC) contract from United Kingdom-based 2Co Power for the proposed “Don Valley” integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCCP) project in Stainforth, Yorkshire, U.K.

The Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) announced January 26 that it provided a seven-year-maturity loan totaling €18 million (US$23.6 million) to Vaskiluodon Voima Oy for the construction of a gasification-based bioenergy plant in Vaasa, Finland.

Huaneng Power International – 51% owned by gasification-based power and fuels technology developer China Huaneng – announced January 30 that it foresees 2011 net profit as measured by Chinese national accounting standards to drop by more than 50% compared to 2012.

Australia-based Carbon Energy announced January 23 that its Bloodwood Creek underground coal gasification (UCG) project, near Dalby in Queensland, “has now achieved almost nine months of sustained syngas production, delivering consistent, high-quality gas, since its initiation in March 2011.”

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on January 17 bragged about Washington-based Summit Power’s power offtake deal with CPS Energy of San Antonio, Texas.

United Kingdom-based CompactGTL announced January 20 that its novel “mini-channel” reactor system for producing Fischer-Tropsch (FT) liquids from stranded natural gas sites successfully passed tests at a Petrobras research site.

Researchers at Cardiff University Catalysis Institute in the United Kingdom announced January 26 that they’ve developed a mixed-metal catalyst that could improve the total yield of diesel fuel from gas to liquids (GTL), coal to liquids (CTL) or biomass to liquids (BTL) Fischer-Tropsch (FT) processes.

India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) is putting new focus on production of unconventional hydrocarbons including underground coal gasification (UCG) schemes.

The Carbon County, Wyoming local commissioners voted January 17 to approve the issuance of US$245 million in tax-exempt bonds plus another $300 million in state industrial bonds for Texas-based DKRW’s proposed $2 billion coal-to-liquids (CTL) plant in Wyoming.

BP plc on January 18 released its second Energy Outlook 2030 report, which (like many other forecasts) foresees energy demand growth overwhelmingly dominated by countries outside the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Shenhua announced January 19 that its direct coal to liquids (DCTL) plant at Erdos, Inner Mongolia, produced 780,000 tonnes of liquid products in 2011, well below the plant’s rated capacity of 1.08 million tonnes/year.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) announced January 19 that Canada-based Methanex picked Geismar, Ascension Parish, as the site for a “potential” methanol production facility.

Australia-based underground coal gasification (UCG) specialist Carbon Energy announced January 18 that Merriman Capital will serve as the new “Principal American Liaison” (PAL) for sponsoring American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) trading on the on OTCQX over-the counter exchange.