OIL IN SOUTHLAND

Southland Times, Issue 24055, 20 February 1940, Page 3

OIL IN SOUTHLAND

To The Editor Sir, —Much has been written lately on the shortage of oil from which this Dominion suffers, but when one looks around, particularly in the province of Southland, the reason why the Dominion is short of oil is exceedingly hard to find. There is sufficient shale in the district to supply New Zealand with oil for years to come. Bores have shown that in one small area here there are 1,000,000 tons of shale, and in the laboratory yields have been obtained which give 60 gallons of oil for every ton of shale. Here, then, for a certainty we know that there are

60,000,000 gallons of oil, while from the whole field it is not possible even to estimate the enormous quantity of oil locked up. From Southland slack coals, the laboratory has again shown that oil may be extracted abundantly. One ton of slack coal gives 11.18 cwt ■of smokeless fuel, 14.75 gallons of tar oil, 3891 cubic feet of gas, 1 gallon (approx.) of light spirit, 71bs sulphate of ammonia. The tar oil yields on further working: 441bs pitch, 7.2 gallons of neutral oil, 3.3 gallons of tar acids (cresylic etc.) Thu gas generated is sufficient to maintain operations. Mataura brown coals, based on their dry weight, show the following: Smokeless r uel 57.2 per cent., tai oils 8.7 per cent., ammonia liquor 12.7 per cent., gas (dry) 6400 C. F. a ton, tar and oils (a ton in gallons) 19.5. Peat offers a surprise to many. The possibilities tied up in this substance are something to be amazed at. Peat macerated, prepared, and then airdried was subjected to test. Before carbonization it had assumed the appearance of hard blocks which could be sawn. Water content was under 17 per cent. During the operation the volume of gas generated was very great, and this was sufficient to carry out all the heating required by the process, and in addition 7940 cubic feet of gas was over, of a B. T. U. value of 325 for every ton of peat. The total yield of gas a ton of peat was 13,760 cubic feet. The tar yield was 21.3 gallons. Refined spirit .36 gallons, oils 15.1 gallons, paraffin wax 13.71b5, pitch 53.71b5, sulphate of ammonia 24.81b5, alcohol, acids etc. lOlbs, coke (carbon) s.4ocwt. The oils can be cracked to give a petrol yield. Another angle to the oil question is the fact that old used motor oil can be refined to a state of absolute purity and value, for re-use, at a cost of less than ninepence a gallon in very simple apparatus. Investigation into this angle of the problem—if such it can be called —is still proceeding in Southland, where the method was discovered. These results were obtained from investigations conducted in the laboratory some years ago as a matter of general interest only. There was no intention of turning them to commercial usage; nevertheless, they show that oil supplies need not present a problem, no matter what the state of the political world.—Yours, etc., C. February 17, 1940.