The Oil Wells.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume I, Issue 25, 9 August 1887, Page 2

The Oil Wells.

SOUTH PACIFIC-OFFICIAL REPORT. The following is a copy of the official report, as furnished to the Sydney Directorate, of the visit of Messrs Carlaw Smith and William Maude to the South Pacific Petroleum Company's works We started from Gisborne on Monday, Ist August, in company with Mr J. W. Weaver, arid reached the works on Tuesday evening, the weather being bad and the roads almost impassible. On Wednesday morning steam was got up, and we at once set about measuring the depth of the bore using every care, and making a measurement both up and down as a check. We found the tubing to ba down 1200 feet and the depth to the bottom of the hole to be 1205 feet. Mr Weaver then started baling, putting the contents of the bailer into i clean cask. The result gave us the greatest satisfaction : four fills of the bailer half filled the cast with good oil, making say about 18 gallons. It Was impossible to get any large quantity down to town on account of the dreadful state of the roads, and we had to content ourselves with bringing a few bottles full, ftnd a two .gallon jar full, the oil being filled into them in our presence, just as it came out of the pipes. The two gallon jar has been shipped to Sydney and the Directors of the Company will be able to judge of the quality of the crude fuel, Which came out of the bailer with a fizzing sound, forming a thick lather when it fell into the cask, and showing a moderate amount of gas to be at the bbttom of the pipe. We found out there was 137 feet of oil in the pipes, and we estimate the quantity to be 112 gallons. We cannot of course say how much there may be outside the pipes. We are satisfied that everything we saw was genuine, and we were careful in observing and noting all that took place, We have tried the oil in the office before a large number of Gisborne people, and it is quite free from water, and, as far as we can judge, of a very high quality. Mr Weaver says it is the finest crude oil he has seen in his experience. We may add that Mr Weaver invited a number of people to accompany us, including the representatives of the press, and four or five shareholders, but the weather and roads were so bnd they all declined to tackle the job. We think that Mr Weaver’s advice as to the future conduct of the work merits the careful consideration ef the Board of Directors.