OIL FROM COAL

Evening Post, Issue 37, 12 August 1936, Page 12

OIL FROM COAL

BRITISH INTERESTS

AUSTRALIAN VENTURE

"Evening Post," August 12.. Millions of pounds have been expended by Imperial Chemical Industries ,on its hydrogenation plant at Billingham, and for a long time it was regarded as experimental. But the in-' dustry is now reported as on a sound commercial basis with thousands of' tons of coal being treated for production of petrol. It is now reported that the operations at Billingham have reached the stage when it is possible.1 for-a plant to be designed for Australian conditions with the certainty j that it will function and producehighquality petrol. Patent rights for the hydrogenation process are held in Australia by Synthetic. Coal Oil Products Proprietary Limited. There are four constituent members of this company, and they are reported to have agreed to undertake immediately the preliminary steps towards erecting a plant for conducting operations in Australia. The first need on the technical side is training technicians and operatives in the specialised details of the process. There are' very few persons possessing these qualifications. TECHNICAL TRAINING. Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd. have agreed to receive trainees from Austraba, and arrangements are being made accordingly. The chairman of the company' (Sir Harry MacGowan), it is announced, is to visit Australia to confer with the . Australian company, and with the Commonwealth and State Governments. A cablegram published- elsewhere in this issue refers to a proposal to operate a plant in Australia with a capacity for 40,000,000 gallons per annum. The' cost is put at between £8,000.000 and £10,000,000. The Premier of-New South Wales (Mr. H. B. Stevens) has had many conferences with the directors of Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd. Discussions also took place with-persons ed in low temperature carbonisation, the Fischer process, and a process which appears to have reached prominence in Austria. Mr. Stevens has stated that the view had been expressed that, under Australian conditions, lowtemperature carbonisation and the Fischer process might involve less financial difficulty than - hydrogenar tion; He gathered the impression that there was not only room, but need for all three processes if Australia was to undertake the development', of her natural resources with a 'view to producing petrol supplies. THE MATTER OF COST. "It is in my view imperative under present world conditions for Australia ■ to develop her resources to the fullest extent," Mr. Stevens is reported to have said. "There is hardly a country, including America, where gush oil is easily available, . where processes* for/extracting oil from shale coal are not being developed. It is estimated that within two or three years Germany will obtain all her supplies of petrol ■ from her resources. Germany is showing development on the technical side with remarkable success, ultimate costs of operation will be affected by the frequency of changes made in structural design as the process develops and the amount to be set aside for amortisation. Outside estimates of costs today however, indicate that if petrol is to be produced under Australian conditions it will be necessary for an arrangemej»t between the Commonwealth and/or the State Governments along the lines of the agreement between Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd. and the British Government. These financial arrangements will mean discussions m Australia between representatives of the Australian patents, holding company, and the Governments, and also Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd. of Great Britain." Treatanent of the suitable coals of New Zealand by various processes w + t en ? u.f^sted from time to time, but the initial expense of installing a plant, for the extraction of petrol on &!?? l 1™11^ t0 those followed atS&^TJll^,? 11? 1^0 Put such Proposals out pf court. Apart from theouf- & In?lli5 e£°fi cum «* Moturoa, which *£&£?& Dodmffi^e e qd u > r^t mOt^4^1 fOll°" "3:!. 1034', 1|)33 . ja« 58Ii €i €1 po™r iS™ qnaniity ?ncl^es