ARLINGTON - How would you like to buy gasoline made from $30 domestic oil versus $75 imported oil?
Researchers at UT Arlington say they've found a practical way to make synthetic crude from cheap coal that's common in Texas.
They say they are just weeks away from signing a contract for commercial production.
People have been turning coal into oil for 100 years or more.
But researchers at UTA say they've invented a better way to do it. So much better, they expect to sign a deal with an oil company within weeks.
"This is east Texas lignite coal. We go from that to this really nice liquid," said Professor Brian Dennis of a light synthetic crude, easily refined into gasoline.
Professor Dennis and a team of scientists have been working on it for about a year and a half.
"I had the idea for this while I was walking to my car. And I ran back to the lab and I started drawing it out in my notebook," he said.
They only showed Channel 8 an early model reactor which doesn't look like much, but it's the only one they can show us.
The current reactor is secret, extremely efficient and they say emits no pollution.
"We're improving the cost every day. We started off sometime ago at an uneconomical $17,000 a barrel. Today, we're at a cost of $28.84 a barrel," said engineering dean Rick Billo.
That's $28 a barrel versus $75 we pay now for imported crude.
Texas lignite coal is dirt cheap - less than $18 a ton. A ton of coal will produce up to 1.5 barrels of oil.
UTA researchers expect micro-refineries to be built within a year, turning coal into cheap oil and producing new jobs.
It's still fossil fuel, but scientists say it could bridge the gap until greener technologies catch up.
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