OIL SEEPAGES AT KOTUKU

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22419, 4 June 1938, Page 16

OIL SEEPAGES AT KOTUKU

— HISTORY OF EARLY TESTING , - * FAILURE OF EFFORTS TO SEEK PAYABLE RETURNS First discovered long before the beginning of the present century, the natural oil seepages'at Kotuku, on the West Coast, which are at present again being investigated have an interesting history. Nearly 40 years ago two sleepercutters, by the name of Mortensen, a Swede, and Dentella, an Italian, noticed oil oozing out ot the ground on the edge of a creek close to where Jack Brothers sawmill .now stands. They, immediately repotted the matter in Greymouth, and there was at once great excitement in the district. Several local companies were formed; and it was not dong before a boring plant was on the job, but as in goldmining on the West Coast, the machinery of those days, was quite inadequate to do the work required. It was not long before this small company had used up all its capital. This, however, did not deter others from following the first unsuccessful effort to find the oil, and primarily through the efforts of Mr William Cooper, supported by Sir Douglas McLean and Mr J. D. Ormond, of Hawke’s Bay, and Mr Joseph Taylor, of Greymouth, a new and stronger company was formed. A brave attempt was then made to locate the oil. Several bores were put down and a small quantity of oil was obtained, but New Zealand at that time did not have the expert field staffs competent to tackle such an undertaking. The sponsors of this company were, however, stalwart men, and they found much money to maintain the effort that was being made. It is easy to understand the enthusiasm and persistence of these men who financed the undertaking, for at that time the whole world was becoming acquainted with the news of the great riches of Rockefeller, earned from his pioneering efforts in the oil industry of America. But there were limits to the distance a small band of men could, or would go, and so a second failure was recorded against the Kotuku field. Oil Company’s Interest About this time Mr David Ziman, a mining magnate on the West Coast, who had not long arrived from South Africa, became associated with the venture, and he gained the interest and support of the great Shell Oil Company. After a thorough survey of the whole field, it was decided to make a further determined effort, and with the backing of such a strong overseas company, it was possible to employ methods far in adyance of the previous attempts. The Shell Oil Company sent out the most modern equipment. They also sent out Austrian drilling experts, as well as engaging Dr. Wanner, a noted German geologist. The whole of the Kotuku district was then surveyed again, and an area of about 10,000 acres mapped out round the point where the oil was first discovered. Dr. Wanner advised the putting down of several test wells to begin with, and then systematically covered the area mapped out. These wells found a little oil in the tertiary rocks, and also a large quantity of salt water, which gushed out of the pipes, but unfortunal ely at a depth of about 800 feet the drills passed into metamorphic rock, more commonly called Graywaike. This formation is the same as what in the main is the structure of the Southern Alps. Although the high hopes originally held for the success of the venture were by now well nigh dissipated, the company was reluctant to abandon the proposition, and they retained Mr Charles Taylor,, a son of one of the pioneers in this effort on the Kotuku field, to put down further bores, but eventually the field was abandoned, and so a picturesque story of the 10 years’ fight for oil on the West Coast ended on a note of failure. But even those who tried so bravely and failed would probably be the first to say that the effort was worth while. Had they won, the prize was so great that not only they, but the people of New Zealand, would have shared in the wealth that would have poured out of these oil wells. Men like Cooper, McLean, Ormond, and Taylor, or Ziman, might have become the Rockefellers of New Zealand, with the Shell Oil Company looked upon as a benefactor. •