SEARCH FOR OIL

Greymouth Evening Star, 6 February 1947, Page 9

SEARCH FOR OIL

NEW VENTURE PLANNED IN TARANAKI BUYER CONFIDENT NEW PLYMOUTH, Feb. 4. Further drilling for oil in the Moturoa field at New Plymouth is likely to be undertaken soon; but the intending purchaser of Moturoa. Oilfields, Ltd., and New Zealand Oil Refineries, Mr. F. J. Dobson, of Kaitawa, will not reveal the site of the first bore. Mr. Dobson, who is visiting New Plymouth for negotiations for the sale, said it would be some months before the transaction was completed. He is a deep well-drilling contractor, and he has been doing that work for 15 years. In the last three and a half years, 100,000 ft of drilling has been done for the New Zealand State hydroelectric works at Kaitawa by Mr. Dobson’s employees and his plant and equipment. Mr. Dobson said he had great hopes of success with Iris oil venture. There were still a few hurdles to overcome before drilling could be commenced; but he was confident that they could be got over. Bores put down by the American party which made a survey of Taranaki some years ago did not definitely prove that there was not an oilfield existing in Taranaki, because the Moturoa oil bores had produced consistently for 15 years, and were still producing at a profit. The main source of the Moturoa oil supply had not yet been tapped, Mr. Dobson said, and all the information available tended to prove that the present producers had a major supply feeding the bores that were in operation.