The domestic need for alternative energy sources and energy self-sufficiency has stimulated a renewed look at underground coal gasification. The potential for UGG in Texas is great because there is estimated to be over 100 billion tons of Texas lignite, amounting to the energy equivalent of ten times the state's reserves in oil and gas. Of this 100 billion tons, about 10 to 20% is recoverable by strip mining. The deeper lignite could be extracted using a process such as underground coal gasification. W. R. Kaiser for the Bureau of Economic Geology has estimated about 35 billion tons to be feasible for recovery by UCG. A low BTU gas produced by air injection of UCG could be used in powerplants. A medium BTU gas produced by steam-oxygen injection could be used in direct heating in industry and as a chemical feedstock. This lignite is also close to the major cities in Texas, making the economics of its utilization even more attractive.