OIL ON WEST COAST

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22429, 16 June 1938, Page 11

OIL ON WEST COAST

FURTHER SURVEYS PLANNED EXTENSIVE SEARCH IN THE KOTUKU-MARSDEN AREA An extensive search for oil will be conducted on the West Coast by New Zealand Oil Concessions. Ltd. The company has been granted a petroleum prospecting licence by the Minister for Mines, the Hon. P. C. Wefab. and plans are now being prepared for the’ search by geophysicists and geologists.* The licence covers an area oi square miles, over the Kotuku and MSrsden districts, and includes tne •Kotuku seepages, which are tlm largest natural seepages of crude oil m New Zealand. The company has asked tne Department of Scientific and Industrial Research to assist in the survey, and for this purpose complete plans are now being made. Mr Norbert Modriniak, an Austrian geophysicist, who has had extensive European experience of oil-bearing lands m Europe, and who conducted a geophysical survey of the Kotuku area last year, visited Christchurch yesterday on behalf of the department, and discussed with directors of the company the extent to which assistance and co-operation are expected from the department. .. . Already it has been agreed the department should help in this survey on the West Coast, and plans are now being made to outline the scope of the renewed examination ot the area. The extent of the assistance to be given will be determined when Mr Modriniak has reported to the department in Wellington. Both, a geophysical and geological survey has been made of the Kotuku-Marsden area, and now, after the discussion yesterday, proposals are being prepared, for a further intensive campaign, with the assistance and cooperation of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Mr Modriniak yesterday showed a short film which effectively illustrates the work of the department ia making its geophysical survey of the area. The shots included show not only the work of the survey party, but the actual seepages and bores at Kotuku, the coloured terraces being formed by the deposits from the seepages, and the springs of pure soda water which well up at high pressure from the fissure there. A Thorough Survey Those who saw the film were told that the seepage does not indicate definitely that there may be a large body of oil in the area, but the evidences available fromthe film were encouraging, and it is intended to make a very thorough survey before boring. Thi'extent to which the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research will co-operate will be decided shortly. The geophysical survey involves interesting methods of ascertaining the likely geological structure of the country. Over specified areas, charges c* guncotton or gelignite are let off, and the reactions of the under-surface structure to these charges are measured and recorded. • From the recordings, some idea is gained of the likely structure of the country. The geophysical survey does not attempt to show whether there is oil in the area surveyed. But a geological survey is made and the data correlated to indicate whether the structure Is likely to bear oil or not. Only intensive boring can prove the ultimate issue. Well-known Seepages The Kotuku seepages have been a landmark on the West Coast for very many years. They were discovered in the very early days of the coast, and since- then the crude oil secured from a snail number of shallow bores put down has driven the coastal vessels which run up and down the coast between Hokitika and anchorages further south. Mr Modrioiak’s film, of which more will be seen, shows all the activities of the geophysical survey the underground and underwater shots being fired, the great showers of water and soil being thrown into the air, and the recording of the geological reactions on special instruments.' Some of the shots shown are fired in the great rivers which flow through the area, or in the lakes. The film is of absorbing interest and constitutes a record of one of the most important branches of the department’s work.