"STRUCK OIL."

Auckland Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 19, 23 January 1896, Page 9

"STRUCK OIL."

ITBW PLYMOUTH. PETROLEUM COMPANY.

IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS AT

MOTUROA

amongst the passengers by the Waihora f] " ' Sydney was Mr R. C. Fairs, the flsntleman who lias had charge of the borinf operations si) New Plymouth, which, telegraphed yesterday, have been attended with such marked success. Mr Fairs in the course of an interview with representative ot the Auckland Evening Stir to-day, furnished some information awarding f' ,e wor'c already done at Motnroa. In answer to r> question as to the discorery, Mr Fairs said, "You see I 'iavo y 'usb returne^ trom Australia, and all I know about it at present ia the news contained - itf o telegrams thab were sent me. jrrob tho first on Monday, which simply in'ormed mo that the boro was down 915 feet, and that fciiere was a D'^ flow of gas. Ofcbursel knew then that the oil would noon follow the gns. The nexb telegram came to hand yesterday, which stated that oil had been struck and that there was a splendid show, also thab the water had beon shut off." What does bhab mean ?

Well, you eoe aba certain level water -omes in, and unless ib is shut oft ib might damn back the oil. I suppose that can be easily done ? Oh, yes. wo often have to provide aeainsb water. Now thab the oil haa risen 7CO feeb it means this h a very good well._ You have had previous oxperionce with oil, I presume ? Yes, both in America, Roumania and elsewhere, bub tor the lasb ben yeara I have been doing artesian boring for water. I came over here, however, to boro for oil. It was firab abarted by a syndicate and I offered to pub down a bore 1,000 foot for half on interosb in tho, venture. The New Plymouth people accepted my oiler, so I K°t my brother, who is in Sydney, and Dr. McLauren and Dr. Foreman, bo join me in the venture. Later on wa formed a company of 50,000 shares, all of which were taken up byoriginal shareholders. I gob oil in the first bore, but as it was pub down close to the one of tho English Company the wafer came in and I abandoned that hole as a bad job. I then went a mile and a half away from the bore of tho English Company and pub down another hole 1,530 feeb, which, however, proved bo be a dry one. Then I pnt down bhis hole and was successful, lam quite satisfied if I geb oil in bwo bores out of three. Probably the oil would have been struck in the other if wo had gone a little lower. ■ Aro the two hole 3in which oil has been got far apart ? About 400 yd?, so that it is a large oxten t. I intended to go for oil to the Papa rock. The formation at New Plymouth ia very like tbab of the Austrian oil fields. I was prepared to bore 2,000 or 2,500 feet, bub I think oil should be goo near tho breakwater ab 1,000 feeb.

Do you think this will make a Dayable field?

'I do, I believe ib is one of fcho bo«b oil fields over struck outside of America. I have not the slightest doubb thab the oil ia very good and if what has been telegraphed is true lam quite satisfied aa to the prospects for the future. For my part I would sooner have a good oil woll than a gold mine.

I see they expect tho oil to flow freely when the debris is cleared from the bore.

Well, it may do so for a few months, bub ultimately we shall have to pump it up. We could commence work ab once if we had enough barrels, but we have not many in stock ab present, so I shall probably have to plug the hole np until wo aro ready to go steadily to work.

Ia this bore far from the bench ?

Only about 200 yards. Ib is quite close to tbe Moturoa Hotel, on Mr Honeyfuld's property. It i.? a good thing for thab gentleman.

I should think ibis. Ho will geb 5 per cent, royalty, whereas in Amorica we only pay 21. We secured a lease nob only of that property, but also of surrounding ones covering an area of about 22,000 acres.

1 ccc that the mere finding of oil has given considerable irapotus to business at New Plymouth, and already properties ore changing hands in view of. the improved prospects of tho district.

I don'D wonder at that; they can believe me when I say ib is going to be one of the best oil fields. The crude oil there is worth about 15? per barrel, and a well that rises 700 feeb should give over 30 barrels a day, so ib ought to pay.

Has it entailed much oxponse to get tho oil?

, From £2,000 to £3,000. Do you propose to get over an American to work the oil ?

,No! I shall manage it myself as I have hd plenty of experience on obhor oil fields. • Will your Comoany do the refininer as well ?

That I don't know yet. In most c.ises one company supplies tho crude oil, and the refining being a separate branch ia generally taken up by another company. 1 consider this a bigger thing for New Plymouth than the goldfielda are lor Auckland. You see no oil has over been foDnd in Australia, so thore should be a Rood market both in New Zealand and tho adjacent colonies.

Stfeing prepared to go 2,000 feeb for oil ab «ew Plymouth, I suppose yon could do the fame ab the Thames for gold 1 I will undertake to co down 4,000 feet if tney will pay for ib, but, of course, oil is more in my line. _ By mail co-dajfcMr Fair received a letter in which it is stated thab "the oil was struck last nighb, and ab 7 o'clock fn« morning it had risen 575 feet in tha pipe. The hole being dirty, we wore unable to pump on' account of spoiling the water in the lagoon, I sent aown a 200-gallon tank this morning, and "ifiy will pump the mullock and cuttings 'oto it andßo clean tho hole out."

(by teleoraph.—press association.)

New Plymouth, this day. Before loaving the petroleum works last evening the men pumped tho well and obrained two barrels of Dure oil, free from »«M, id about fifteen minute.". Thoy then ' '°™ d °wn until morning. Tho prospect? '.."a very satisfactory. Natural gas from j"? well i 3 now being used to heat tho °°"er 4 or driving the machinery.