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Introduction: Substantiating a line of inquiry stretching back a number of years, this program presents information about the development of the hydrogenation process to create synthetic motor fuel. Originally developed by the I.G. Farben company, the process was the focal point of the Standard/I.G. Agreement of 1929 and provided Nazi Germany with much of its fuel in World War II. The hydrogenation process has been revived in the current economic climate of extraordinary oil prices. For a number of years, Mr. Emory has been foreshadowing such a development, citing the Thyssen industrial firm’s purchase and re-commissioning of the I.G. Farben synthetic oil plant in Leuna, Germany. The largest of I.G.’s synthetic fuel plants, the Leuna facility was the focal point of the CDU funding scandal. Taken in combination with the Thyssen firm’s central role in generating the Peak Oil deception (which provides intellectual underpinning to the high price of crude), the resuscitation of the Leuna plant led Mr. Emory to forecast that the Standard/I.G. agreement would emerge from dormancy, and the hydrogenation process would become a factor in the commercial petroleum economy. Indeed, that has now happened. An application of the hydrogenation process is being commercially developed to produce ultra-clean diesel fuel and other products, backed by major oil and automobile firms. Most of the program consists of a re-broadcast of much of FTR#506.

Program Highlights Include: The history of the development of the hydrogenation process; the forecasts of “The End of Oil” in the 1920’s; an account of the Battle of Leuna in World War II; review of the Thyssen firm’s purchase of the Leuna facility; the central role of Thyssen subsidiary HIS Energy Consultants in developing the Peak Oil deception.

1. Recapping of the bulk of FTR# 506, Mr. Emory read the article that is the key to the theme of the broadcast. As forecast, the hydrogenation process that was at the core of the Standard/I.G. Agreement of 1929 is once again emerging as a commercially viable process for the manufacture of motor fuel. With the price of oil being as high as it is now, the process is being utilized to turn natural gas into motor fuel. Note that many of the major oil companies, including ExxonMobil and Chevron—both members of the old Standard Oil Trust—are involved in the development of this technology.

“A novel way to create an ultra-clean fuel for cars that uses natural gas instead of oil is on the verge of rapid growth, analysts say, driven by soaring oil prices and a thirst for alternative fuels. Oil companies are investing billions in the nascent technology, called ‘gas-to-liquids’ or GTL, which can be used to produce quality diesel and a range of other products normally derived from crude. The process was developed in Nazi Germany and apartheid South Africa, but in a few weeks will be tested on a commercial scale for the first time when the largest plant so far opens in Qatar. [Emphasis added.] The Oryx GTL plant, a joint venture between South Africa’s Sasol and Qatar Petroleum, is being watched closely by competitors and investors looking for the next big thing in energy. . . . Carmakers are also interested. Royal Dutch Shell is working with Toyota, Volkswagen and DaimlerChrysler to create vehicles that run on pure GTL diesel, which combines high power with extremely low emissions. . . . Shell and ExxonMobil plan to build much larger GTL plants in Qatar. . . . Nigeria has a plant under construction, built by Sasol and Chevron. BP plans to build a plant in Colombia. . . .”

(“Oil Giants Look to Gas Alternative” by Thomas Catan; The Financial Times; 3/6/2006; p. 15.)

2. A previous Financial Times article discussed the genesis of the GTL process:

“To be sure, GTL has been around for a while. The basic process was invented in the 1920’s and then developed by Nazi Germany and apartheid South Africa—both of which had problems getting enough petrol for their vehicles. Initially, it was used to turn coal into a liquid. [Emphasis added.] Today, it is used to turn natural gas into a clean burning fuel for use in diesel engines, naptha, lubricants and a range of other products. . . . .”

(“Ambition to Become the World Capitol of Novel Technology—Gas-to-Liquid” by Thomas Catan; The Financial Times; 5/19/2005.)

3. After discussing the development of the hydrogenation process, the program highlights the Standard/I.G. Agreement of 1929 (which took place against the predicted “end of oil” crisis that has been revived in the form of the “Peak Oil” deception). The program then describes the wartime significance of the Leuna plant—I. G. Farben’s largest synthetic fuel plant. The Leuna facility was the focal point of a decisive strategic bombing campaign in 1944. Following discussion of the Thyssen firm’s acquisition of the Leuna facility in 1993, the program notes that the Peak Oil deception originates from HIS Energy Consultants, a Thyssen-Bornemisza Industries subsidiary.

4. Noting the prominence of the Thyssen interests in the generation of the Peak Oil deception and Thyssen’s purchase of Leuna, Mr. Emory speculates that the deliberate inflation of oil prices would lead to the resurrection of the hydrogenation process. (Hydrogenation was considered too expensive to compete with naturally-derived petroleum.) In addition to the enormous profits derived from the high price of naturally-produced crude, the parties to the Standard/I.G. Agreement are positioned to derive still greater profits from synthetic fuel production. To more fully appreciate this path of inquiry, be sure to examine related broadcasts, particularly FTR#511, which features the original discussion of the Standard/I.G. agreement. In FTR#534 we examine the genocidal Nazi philosophy underlying the peak oil deception. Note, also, that the other primary application of the hydrogenation process was in apartheid South Africa, itself an outcropping of Nazi Germany.