MOTUROA OIL FIELDS

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 145, 16 December 1933, Page 28

MOTUROA OIL FIELDS

SHAREHOLDERS MEET

Tlio annual general meeting of shareholders in'Moturoa Oil Fields, Ltd., was held in the- .Wellington Chamber of Commerce yesterday, the chairman of directors (Mr. H. B. Hart) presiding. Tho annual report (already published) was taken as read. Moving its adoption, the chairman "remarked that, under the circumstances, the balancesheet and profit and loss account was fairly good reading. Mr. C. Richardson seconded tho motion. Tho secretary, Mr. F. H. Bass, outlined the agreement made with the drillers. Supplementing reports, already published, Mr. •C. N. Taylor, managing director, said that during the year they had completed the No. 3 well, and hnd obtained the same indications as in the No. 2 well, which'had been so successful. They had had great hopes that it would develop into a producer, but the well made only about fifty barrels of oil. When they came to bail it out, it commenced to make water with a heavy flow of gas, which was not an unusual thing. ' The hole was re-cemented, but while there was plenty of gas the well did not produce, and it was decided to remove the, equipment to 800 feet west of the No. 2 well. They had made good progress with this new" No. 4 well, which was down about 1800 feet in eight weeks. It had been hoped to complete it before Christmas, but suddenly gas they had passed by blew into the well and stuck the pipe. After all methods of freeing the pipe had been tried, the easing spear jammed. It was found possible to cut holes into the pipe, nearly a quarter of a mile below the operators, and the sand was sluiced j away by pressure. During the trouble* the men had worked twelve hours a day, Sundays included. He had every confidence that this" year ,they .would, realise the hopes they had in No. 4 well. It was only a stone's throw from their successful ' No. 2, and the well-known Blenheim well, .but,if it failed to .produce immediately, the future was still bright, because it had been shown that once a well had been brought into production they~could rely on a steady flow for a long time. They were obtaining a fair price in' the sale- of. the oil, 4Jd a gallon, but the oil was more valuable than that. Instead of the 20 per cent., they were extracting, it would be possible.to get 60 ; /per cent, with a better plant. ( The report and balance-sheet were adopted. ;The retiring directors, Messrs.-H. B. Hart and A. B. Williams, were reelected. Appreciation of the course taken by the directors,,, and .of the loyal work of the"drillers) was voiced by Mr. A. Hamilton.