Abstract
THE report of the Sub-committee on Oil from Coal of the Committee of Imperial Defence serves a useful purpose, although nothing new is disclosed. Unless unexpected discoveries of petroleum should result from the exploratory work conducted by oil companies as an outcome of the recent Petroleum Act, Great Britain has only one alternative to importing practically the whole of its oil supplies: that is, the large-scale conversion of coal into oil by hydrogenation or synthesis, processes which are still very costly in both capital and operation. Oil and motor spirit are produced in small proportions as by-products from the carbonization industries, but such sources are not capable of indefinite expansion, since their industrial stability is dependent upon adequate markets for the main products—coke of various kinds or gas. They were, however, stimulated by the guaranteed preference at the rate of 4d. a gallon for ten years which has operated in favour of home-produced motor spirit since the Act of 1934. Although only 4d. per gallon is guaranteed by this Act, the actual preference which has been in operation since 1934 has been 8d., but this involves a shortening of the period during which the guarantee is effective. The report recommends that the guarantee should be increased to 8d. a gallon and remain in operation until 1950, and that it should be extended to include diesel oil used in motor vehicles.
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LANDER, C. Oil from Coal. Nature 141, 632–633 (1938). https://doi.org/10.1038/141632a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/141632a0