Producing oil from coal is a technology that has been around for a long time. Germany used it to fuel its tanks and aircraft during World War II and South Africa is using it today to provide about 30 percent of its gasoline and diesel supply. China is now embracing it since they are the world's largest producer and consumer of coal. But for the United States, the country with the largest coal reserves in the world, coal to liquids plants have been stymied because it is argued that its life cycle greenhouse gas emissions would be higher than that of conventional oil. So, U.S. coal producers in Montana and Wyoming are looking toward Asian markets for new coal sales and coal producers in West Virginia and Kentucky have increased their exports of coal for steel making.[a2]
