§ Mr. FERENSasked the Minister of Munitions whether his attention has been called recently to the subject of supplies of oil for the Navy; whether he has official 317W information showing that an expenditure of £10,000 on plant would enable 100 tons of cannel to be distilled a day with the production of 4,000 gallons of oil, and that it is possible to produce 500,000,000 gallons of oil a year by this method; and, if so, what has been done; whether any steps have been taken to carry out the recommendations made in a Report of the Petroleum Research Department referred to in the Press; what quantities of homeproduced fuel oil have been made available for the Admiralty; and who are the officers responsible for the administration of the Mineral Oil Production Department?
§ Sir WORTHINGTON EVANSThe right hon. Member's questions appear to be based on certain letters which have recently appeared in the Press, which contain erroneous and misleading statements.
The statement that a plant could be erected at a cost of £10,000 capable of distilling 4,000 gallons of oil from 100 tons of cannel per day is incorrect. A full installation of this type of plant would probably not cost less than £40,000. From specially selected cannels it is possible to distil 40 gallons of oil per ton, but the quantity of cannel of this quality is strictly limited, and it is not expected to obtain an average of more than 25 gallons per ton of cannel.
The figure of 500,000,000 gallons of oil is one quite impossible of realisation in present circumstances. The production of this quantity of oil would involve the carbonisation of more material than is at present carbonised by all the gasworks of the United Kingdom, and, even if sufficient material were available, the existing limitations of labour and plant make such a total quite impossible of achievement.
It has not been found possible to accept in general the recommendations of the Report of the Petroleum Research Department referred to in the right hon. Member's question, inasmuch as the supplies of labour and material are not available to carry out the recommendations made, and it is open to question whether the quantities of cannel mentioned in the Report can under present conditions be obtained. It has, therefore, been decided to adopt a scheme on different lines to those recommended in the Report, involving a much smaller expenditure of labour, material, and money, and giving substantial deliveries at an earlier date. Steps, however, are 318W being taken to erect batteries of retorts at a limited number of colliery centres where the conditions are suitable.
It is not in the public interest that I should give the quantities of home-produced fuel oil made available for the Admiralty, but while the quantities made available are not as yet very important, the amount delivered has been steadily increasing. I may say that the November deliveries were more than twice those of September. The December figures are not yet available, but owing to the holidays and cold weather it is not anticipated that they will show any advance. These figures do not include the production from the Scottish shale oil companies, which has increased considerably. Arrangements are being made to obtain a further increase from this source of supply.
The Department of Mineral Oil Production was started on July 20th, 1917. Professor Cadman, who was acting as chief assistant to the Secretary of State for the Colonies in questions connected with mineral oil production and supply, temporarily assumed the duties of Director of the Department. On September 27th Sir Arthur Churchman, Bart., was appointed Director, and Professor Cadman has since acted as his technical adviser. Sir Arthur Churchman is a business man of great experience and high reputation. Both he and Professor Cadman enjoy the full confidence of the Ministry, and I am glad to have this opportunity of drawing attention to the value of their services.