Abstract
OIL from coal was the subject of a debate in the House of Commons on February 8, when the British Hydrocarbon Oils Production Bill was read for the second time. The Bill proposes to give a preference of 4d.–9d. a gallon on oil derived from British coal, peat and shale. The exact amount of the preference will depend on the customs duty payable on imported material, or on the difference between it and any excise duty. The duration of the preference will depend on its amount: at the minimum rate of 4d. a gallon it will operate for nine years, or, at 9d. a gallon, for four years. The Secretary for Mines (Mr. E. Brown) reported that the Government announcement of policy has already been followed by industrial developments. Imperial Chemical Industries have started the erection of a plant at Billingham for the annual production of 100,000 tons (30,000,000 gallons) of motor spirit by the hydrogenation of coal. A substantial increase is also shown in the amount of benzol obtained last year from gas works and coke ovens, as well as in the quantity of motor spirit from shale oil and low temperature carbonisation processes. More than 10,000 men have been put into employment already in connexion with the Billingham plant, and, in operation, it will absorb 1,280 men, and, in addition, some 1,200 miners for the production of 350,000 tons of coal a year. The actual cost to the Treasury of the production of 100,000 tons of oil under the new preference will, it is estimated, be about £1,000,000.
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Oil from Coal in Great Britain. Nature 133, 285 (1934). https://doi.org/10.1038/133285a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/133285a0