Coal-to-Oil technology has been around since WWII. The Germans did it a lot to obtain the gas needed for their armies. Trouble is, cost. A barrel of fuel via coal costs much more than even today’s oil-well product.
The figures that I have been seeing indicate that coal-to-liquid is competitive at an oil price of $45, which we are well above. The bulk of the cost is capital costs ($600-million to $700-million range for a 10,000 barrel per day plant). Investors don't like to risk $700M unless they can be sure that OPEC won't crash the price of oil and bankrupt them.
But at current prices, if the market price is $100, and the operating cost is $35/barrel, then the plant generates 10K * $65 = $650K/day or $237M per year, producing capital payback in 3 years, which makes it financially viable