PROSPECTING FOR OIL IN N.Z.

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27501, 8 November 1954, Page 10

PROSPECTING FOR OIL IN N.Z.

Forty New Licences Issued

MAJOR COMPANIES INTERESTED (From Our Own Reporter) WELLINGTON, November 7. Renewed interest in the search for oil in New Zealand is being taken by a major oil company, whose representatives have taken out 40 oil prospecting licences covering 7100 square miles on the West Coast of the South Island and in the Tauranga, Gisborne, and Hawke’s Bay areas. The licences are valid for five years. In the past, surveys have been made by private oil companies and prospectors, but without any great success, although oil has been struck near New Plymouth.

One of the major overseas oil comKanies, Vacuum Oil Proprietary, Ltd., as also applied for prospecting licences covering other portions of the country.

The 40 licences already granted by the Mines Department, whidh controls the granting of prospecting rights, have been taken out by Todd Brothers, Ltd., which is associated with Todd Motors, Ltd;, a large car-importing concern. Todd Brothers, Ltd., has also applied for licences covering a large area in Canterbury. This area is bounded roughly by a line from Washdyke to the eastern end of Lake Ellesmere, then to Kaiapoi, excluding the city of Christchurch, back to Mayfield, and then down to Washdyke. A decision on the granting of licences for this area will be made by the department within several weeks. As it is Government policy to encourage all oil prospecting ventures it is unlikely that the application will be rejected. In any event, this area will have to be covered by several licences, as no one licence may cover more than 200 square miles. West Coast Investigations Todd Brothers, Ltd. has not yet begun drilling, but Mr Brian Todd and an American geologist, Mr J. E. Brantly, have been investigating prospects on the West Coast in recent weeks. .

The first steps in the exploration for oil will be the collection of data on likely fields. To assist in this, information previously gathered by the Geological Survey of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research will be made available to Messrs Todd and Brantly. Two geologists of the Geological Survev accompanied Messrs Todd and Brantly on their recent West Coast trip. Mr Brantly was the founder in 1929 of the Drilling and Exploration Company (Incorporated), which later operated in Canada, Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. Licences have been granted to smaller concerns in recent months for prospecting rights in many parts of the country. Particulars of these licences are:— ® adi e» J 94 square miles on the West Coast; Dunseath and Hyde, two areas, each of 96 acres, in North Auckland; F. E. L., Williams, 50 square miles near the Waiau river, Southland; Barr and Martin, 194 square miles in North Canterbury. In addition, Esmont Oil Wells, Ltd., of New Plymouth, which is producing oil, holds a drilling licence.

Geological Research r. Late tl s month, the Geological Suryey w >1 begin a Dominion-wide investigate i to find likely sources of oil. rhe in.ormation obtained will be avail; ,le to oil prospectors. Though th - New Zealand search tor 2’ 1 „' s “ ot . v ’ ( s bein S intensified because of N. ;v Zealand’s vulnerability in any future war when prospects of supplying oil by tanker across the Pacific would not be good. Though storage space in the Dominion has been increased since the end of the Second World War, the amount of petrol and oil that could be held in New Zealand would last for only a brief period, even with strict rationing.