UK firm says it will turn old tyres to oil next year

LONDON - Motorists currently struggling to find working petrol pumps will from next year be able to turn their old tyres into oil, a British smokeless fuel manufacturer said yesterday. Britain is suffering a shortage of fuel as protestors, upset by escalating fuel costs, block supplies. Coalite Smokesless Fuels said its plant will be able to turn up to 80,000 tonnes of old tyres into about 150,000 barrels of oil, similar in quality to North Sea Brent crude which yesterday was priced at about $33 (23.49 pounds) a barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange in London. "We are currently in advanced stage of negotiations with tyre collectors," Nick Ross, Coalite Smokeless Fuels commercial director told Reuters. Some scrap tyres are currently burnt for their energy value or recycled to produce carpet underlay, but a high percentage is used in landfill. Ross said tighter laws such as the EU Landfill Directive which comes into force in 2003 will make these disposal options increasingly difficult. REUTERS NEWS SERVICE