Show Somervell Says Canol Creates Oil for New War Var WASHINGTON Dec 20 INS Lieutenant General Brehon Somervell Somervell Som Som- ervell army supply chief told congress congress con- con gress fress Monday that when the army launched its Canol oil project in Canada it created a petroleum petroleum- reserve for a third world war Somervell made this assertion while testifying before the senate Truman committee which is Investigating Investigating in investigating In- In charges that the Canol project was a huge waste of pubic public pub pub- lie lic ic money As chief of supply Somervell was responsible for the project and was called before the committee today to explain his stand When Wh n we decided t to to- undertake the Work v o justified justi justl- fied fled fied b by Hh the d sperate lar sit situa situa- tion tion c the country but hindsight justifies s it Itt even now now Somervell said Instead of finding only two to three million barrels of f oil at Norman Norman Norman Nor Nor- man wells we have found about 58 million barrels There are prospects that we will find million We need all the oil we can get for this war It also will prove a reserve against the future Senator Harley S S. S Kilgore D D. W. W Va then asked Somervell whether the army looked upon the Canol project as a means mealS of meetIng meeting meeting meet meet- ing needs of the current war or world war three Both Somervell replied The project consists of a refinery refinery refinery ery at White Horse Canada near the Alaska border development of oil fields at Norman Wells Canada Canada Canada Can Can- ada and a system of pipelines connecting connecting con con- fleeting both with the coast and with Alaska When the committee demanded to know whether he thought 30 30 more should be spent to complete work or if the project should be abandoned as a total economic loss Somervell stated we should never give it up up In the last month the project has been declared a military necessity necessity necessity sity by the highest military authorities authorities au au- au- au in the country Somervell Somer Somer- yell veil said It should not only be completed but expanded The Norman Wells discovery is the biggest on the North American continent In the last 15 years Somervell said that War Production Production tion Chief Donald Nelson or Petroleum Petroleum Petroleum Pe Pe- Pe- Pe Administrator for War Harold Ickes had never been consult consulted con con- sult d about the project because it was completely beyond their I j jurisdiction and they had no pro pro- pro pro- men who could contribute anything to It it itHe He added that discoveries at Point Barrow Alaska a would be too far from the battlefront and other Alaskan points were too exposed ex ex- posed to enemy attacks for military military mili mili- tary safety We und undertook this purely as a aS S matter of military necessity and not as a commercial operation Somervell asserted |