SEARCH FOR OIL

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 58, Issue 195, 31 May 1938, Page 7

SEARCH FOR OIL

HUGE NEW UNDERTAKING. POTENTIALITIES IN DOMINION. The Vacuum Oil Company Proprietary, Limited, announces having entered into agreements with Shale Oil Investigations Pty., Ltd., and California Texas Investments, Limited, pursuant. to which a new company known as New Zealand Petroleum C'o., Ltd., lias been incorporated with the object of making an extensive search for crude petroleum in New Zealand. New Zealand Petroleum Company, Limited, will be adequately financed and will have the experience and technical knowledge of highly competent advisers. It will operate the most up-to-date equipment and plant to enable exhaustive geological and geophysical work, and also deep drilling to be carried out. The new company will b'e ‘in a position to conduct the search in accordance with the best-known oil field practice. Vacuum Oil Company Limited, has for many years been interested in the search 'or oil in New Zealand and Australia.

In 1918 it procured the services of Mr W. A. English, an experienced American geologist, for the purpose of investigating certain territories in Western Australia, South Australia, and Victoria. In 1924 Mr Bon Belt, a geologist of long experience, who had successfully' located petroleum deposits in Texas and elsewhere, was brought to Australia and New Zealand and conducted exhaustive and expensive geological examinations in both countries. He was followed in the year 1930 by an eminent geologist, Dr. Jablonski, who, likewise, conducted geological surveys in New Zealand and Australia. None of these efforts were successful. Nevertheless, in the years 1933 and 1934 further geological surveys were carried out in the Gisborne district of New Zealand, and also in other parts of the Dominion. This work was performed in co-oporatien with Taranaki (N.Z.) Oil Fields N.L. and its associated companies. Four well-known geologists—Dr. Jablonski, and Messrs Bremner, Steineke and Osborne —together with a staff and equipment, were engaged in this work for a period of two years.

The most up-to-date drilling plant, capable of drilling to depths of 8000 feet, will be used by the new company in an effort to determine the oil potentialities of New Zealand. The intention of Vacuum Oil Company Proprietary, Limited, to participate financially and technically with its partners in New Zealand Petroleum Company, Limited, in a large-scale search for oil of a magnitude hitherto not contemplated in New Zealand is an indication of its real interest and desire to obtain a source of supply of petroleum nearer than its present source. It has been encouraged to commit itself to this substantial expenditure as a result of the new petroleum legislation passed by the Dominion Government at the end of last year. In this regard it takes the opportunity of placing on record its appreciation of the sympathetic encouragement the quest for oil has received from the Hon. P. C. Webb (Minister of Mines), the Hon. W. Nash (Minister of Finance), and other members of the Cabinet in New Zealand and the great services in this regard performed by Mr A. Tyndall (Under-Secretary for Mines).-