§ Dame Joan Vickersasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will consider the possibility of deriving oil from coal until the North Sea produces enough to compensate for Middle East oil supplies.
§ Mr. EmeryThe role that coal-derived oil could play in meeting energy needs12W in the United Kingdom is kept under continuous review by scientists and engineers of the National Coal Board and my Department. A major programme of research and development in the United States of America is showing the way to considerable improvements in economics and yields over the established oil-from-coal route operating commercially in South Africa, but these new processes are unlikely to reach the stage of commercial exploitation before the 1980s.