§ Mr. Woofasked the Secretary of State for Energy what estimate he has made of the amount of total energy consumption used to remove sulphur from fuel oil at refinery stages.
§ Mr. John SmithThe total energy consumed depends on the type and sulphur content of the crude oil from which the fuel oil is derived, on the proportion of the original sulphur removed and on the desulphurisation process used. For typical residual fuel oil containing 4 per cent. of sulphur, derived from a Middle East crude, the energy consumed in reducing its sulphur content to 0.5 per 11W cent. by a direct process is about 8 per cent. of the thermal value of the oil. If the sulphur content is reduced to 2.5 per cent, by an indirect—two-stage—process, the energy consumed is about 5 per cent. of the thermal value of the oil.