Deal that makes coal turn to oil

COMMODITIES trading giant Vitol has struck a deal to help turn coal waste into oil, that could bring the cost of a barrel down to just $10.

Vitol and coal company Peabody are putting about £8m each into London-based start-up Arq fuels, which has discovered how to extract particles of hydrocarbons from waste at coal mines and convert them into a liquid that can be combined with fuel or crude oil.

The coal industry throws away more than a billion tons of waste each year, equivalent to about 5m barrels of oil per day.

As well as investing in Arq, Vitol will blend the result, called Arq Fuel, into its products.

The first Arq Fuel is due to be available in 2019.