HIGH OCTANE PETROL

Evening Star, Issue 25226, 13 July 1944, Page 6

HIGH OCTANE PETROL

GOLD DOUCHE FOR MOTORISTS So much publicity has been focused on the huge volume of 100 octane petrol being produced) for the air services of the United Nations (more than 15,000,000 gallons a day), and also the great advantages that would later accrue to the users of post-war motor cars, that the average motorist in this country is likely to be imbued with the idea that soon after peace is declared this super, fuel is likely to be made available to car owners, says the ' Dunlop Bulletin.' A cold douch is thrown on any such possibility in the near future by a leading expert of one of the world's largest oil companies, who cites a potent reason why 100 octane petrol is not likely to be produced for automotive use in the immediate post-war years. The reason given is an economic one. He states that any effort to force the use of high octane petrols for automotive use in the United States would result in wasting 378,000,000 gallons of crude oil per year for every octane number gained, and the needs of petroleum conservation would prohibit it. The basic premise upon which petrol for automotive use will be produced after the war will be for the quality of fuel to be such as to make possible the greatest number of car miles per barrel of crude oil compatible with acceptable and reasonable performance standards. Another reason why the production of high octane petrol is likely to be limited is that it consumes special chemicals at costs almost prohibitive in peace time and also greatly reduces the yield of regular petrol per barrel of crude oil, a matter of extreme importance in view of the decreasing output of crude oil from most of the United States oilfields, which, in the past, have provided! the world with its major supply of petrol.