HC Deb 08 December 1942 vol 385 c1423
20. Sir Robert Rankin

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether his attention has been drawn to experiments being conducted in Norway with the object of extracting oil from peat, which tend to show that after refinement the oil is particularly suitable for lubrication; and whether any experimental plants are similarly contemplated in this country?

The Minister of Fuel and Power (Major Lloyd George)

As Norway is enemy-occupied territory, my information about these experiments is naturally meagre. I understand that the yield of lubricating oil from this process is likely to be small. In view of this, and of the labour required for the winning of peat, it is not proposed to erect experimental plants of this type at the present time.