INTE RNATIONAL
World Oil and Gas Picture Bright Improving detection, drilling, and recovery methods help to bolster world's oil and gas position The world's hydrocarbon energy pic ture is rosy and promises to shape up even better in coming years. World oil reserves may eventually hit 500 billion metric tons, more than 10 times those estimated for the end of 1962, according to Prof. E. H. A. Bentz. Both figures are a far cry from the situation of 1911, when estimated world crude oil reserves totaled only 5 billion tons, he adds. Prof. Bentz retired two months ago as president of the Bundesanstalt fur Bodenforschung ( Institute for Soil Re search) of the West German Federal Republic, Currently he is a member of the Permanent Council of the World Petroleum Congress. Behind the improving position in oil and gas are several factors—improved methods of detecting deposits, new drilling methods, and more efficient ways of wringing the oil from the ground. For years, Prof. Bentz says, Africa was regarded as an oil-poor continent. Yet in 1961, out of 270 drillings there, 24% proved out. In Texas, formerly considered the richest oil producing area, only 7%, on the average, result in producing wells, he adds. Further more, all the reserves of Asia and South America have yet to be dis covered. At the same time, new drilling
methods mean that more underwater deposits can be tapped. Borings in water 3000 meters deep are already possible, he says. Underwater de posits may prove to be a large source. For example, those beneath the Per sian Gulf and Red Sea are greater than those found in the surrounding land area, Prof. Bentz says. Not only is more oil being dis covered, but more effective recovery methods are being developed. Thus, says Prof. Bentz, recovery efficiency, which until now has been about 33%, can be doubled. And even further in creases are possible. More Gas, Too. The world gas pic ture is changing too, Prof. Bentz says. Proved gas reserves at the end of 1961 were a little more than 20 trillion cubic meters. But until relatively recently, gas exploration has been mainly a mat ter of chance, he says. It has been only in the past 10 years that a systematic search has been made. Thus, tradi tional theories of where gas is likely to be found are, in part, obsolete. As an example, Prof. Bentz points to the gas recently found in a sandstone for mation of northwestern Germany for merly considered void of gas. Nevertheless, the economical use of gas has been plagued by transport problems, he points out. In the Near East alone, about 15 billion cubic
North America and the Near East Have More Than Two Thirds of the World's Oil and Gas Reserves Gas Reserves, end of 1961 (billions of cubic meters)
Oil Reserves, end of 1962 (millions of metric tons)
Near East North America U.S.S.R. South America Far East Africa Europe
25,772 5,472 4,452 3,560 1,541 1,185
405 TOTAL 42,387
Source: Prof. Ε. Η.A. Bentz
North America Near East U.S.S.R. South America Africa Europe Far East
8,808 5,041 2,039 1,524 1,521
759 543 TOTAL 20,235
meters of waste gas are burned each year. Political questions often stand in the way of pipelines, and the more boundaries are involved, the more dif ficult the solution. Refrigerated tankers, of course, skirt this type of problem. Satisfactory solution of the transportation question will make gas more competitive with coal and oil, Prof. Bentz says.
Tunisian Firm Plans to Build Fertilizer Plant A new company, NPK Engrais, S.A.T., has been set up in Tunisia to build and operate a fertilizer plant there. The plant, to be built at the port of Sfax, will make 150,000 tons a year of triple superphosphate from local deposits of rock phosphate. The International Finance Corp., Sweden's Aktiebolaget Forenade Superfosfatfabriker, and Freeport Sulphur's investment subsid iary, Freeport International, are fi nancing the project. Most of the output from the plant will be exported. Forenade, the orig inal sponsor of the project, plans to buy "very substantial quantities" of NPK's production for distribution in Sweden. The rest of the plant's out put will probably be sold in Africa and Asia. Total investment in NPK will be about $14 million, including $6 million in share capital. Forenade plans to buy $3.5 million worth of NPK shares and also plans to lend the company another $2.15 million. International Finance Corp. will purchase $1.5 mil lion in shares, and will lend $2 million. Freeport International will buy $1 mil lion in shares and lend $600,000. NPK expects to complete its financing through mortgage loans and suppliers' credits. Forenade will design the fertilizer plant as well as supervise its construc tion. Production should start in 1965.
Du Pont to Build Mylar Plant in Luxembourg Du Pont will build a polyester film plant at Sandweiler-Contern, Luxem bourg. Du Pont de Nemours (Luxem bourg) S.A., a new subsidiary, will own the facility. The plant, due on stream in mid-1964, is scheduled for full production toward the end of the same year. Construction will start early next year. The plant will make NOV.
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Mylar film in thicknesses from 0.0038 to 0.36 mm. For several years, Du Pont has been exporting its Mylar film to Europe from the U.S. It decided to produce Mylar in Europe to offer its customers there better service. Du Pont's latest European venture is its third in little more than six weeks. In early October, the company took over Adox Fotowerke G.m.b.H., a West German photo products firm (C&EN, Oct. 8, page 17). And less than two weeks later, it revealed plans to build a Lycra spandex fiber plant at Dordrecht, the Netherlands (C&EN, Oct. 15, page 2 1 ) . The move into Luxembourg under scores Du Pont's fast move into the front ranks of U.S. firms investing in Europe (C&EN, Feb. 26, page 5 4 ) . Du Pont Luxembourg will be the firm's 12th European subsidiary since it formed its first—Du Pont U.K.—in 1956. The company has or has planned operations in every country in the European Common Market but Italy. It has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Sweden, and Spain as well. The new plant will be Du Pont's 16th in Europe, including five recently acquired in the Adox deal.
INTERNATIONAL Nalco Chemical, Chicago, and Im perial Chemical Industries of Australia and New Zealand, Ltd., have formed a joint venture to make petroleum crack ing catalysts in Australia. The two companies will build a $3 million plant at ICIANZ's Botany, New South Wales, site. Nalco, with a 49% in terest in the project, will provide the plant design and process know-how. The plant will make silica-alumina fluid cracking catalysts which are used to convert heavy petroleum fractions into gasoline. ICIANZ will supply some of the raw materials for making the product. The plant should be com pleted by 1964.
Sekaicho Rubber Co. will make poly ester film in Japan, using Goodyear Tire's patents and technical know-how. The two firms have signed an agree ment which calls for Sekaicho to make the film (it will be similar to Goodyear's Videne) at its Osaka plant. The Japanese company will also use Good year know-how to laminate the film onto rigid substrates.
