THE QUEST FOR OIL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18889, 11 December 1924, Page 10

THE QUEST FOR OIL.

OPERATIONS

IN TARANAKI.

SECOND BORE TO" BEGINS

SEEKING SITE FOR THIRD.

INVESTIGATION BY GEOLOGISTS.

[Ey TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.]

NEW PLYMOUTH. Wednesday.

Further important steps in the search, for oil in Taranaki are about to be taken by the Taranaki Oil Wells, Ltd. A site for a second bore has been selected' at Moturoa, drilling will commence, at Tarata in the course of a few days, and geologists are to make a reconnaissance of the province with a view to selecting the most suitable site for a third bore. This information was given by Dr. F. G. Olapp, consulting geologist to the company, and Mr. A. IS. Broue, one of the directors. The site for the second bore is on the beach at the breakwater, near highwater mark. The work preliminary to the erection of the derrick is to be put in hand during the next two or three days, and all the plant required for the erection of the derrick and for drilling is already on the site.

Dr. Clapp said this appoared to be the most favourable spot at which to put down a bore in that locality. It closely adjoined the first well that was driven, and from which oil in nearly commercially payable quantities had been obtained and also No. 3 bore from which oil was how flowing. Using the most modern and the" best of appliances, the bore would .be driven to a proper depth in the search for oil. .He could (jive. no definite indication as to what this depth would be or whether it would be deeper than the Blenheim bore, the deepest on the field. Only results could determine the actual depth. Continuing, Dr. Clapp confirmed the remark made by Mr. Broue that_ it was owing to the weakness of the casing used in other bores at Moturoa that the failure of the wells to deliver oil was principally due. Under pressure the casing had col-' lapsed, and the wells had become flooded. In the new bore the casing to be used would withstand almost any pressure. Begarding the operations at Tarata, Dr. Clapp expressed himself as being very pleased with what had been done both in the detailed geological survey of the area and in the preparations for boring. The derrick, he said, would be completed in a few days and drilling would then be commenced. How long it would take the drill to go down could not be stated, but the chief driller was a man who would push ahead as fast as possible. He did not think it possible that they would have any results until after January at the earliest.

The search for the site of the third bore is to be made by three geologists, Mr. E. Marquardt, Mr. Osborne (an Australian, who has just joined the company's service's), and a third yet to be appointed. The new geologists are to work under Mr. Marquardt and Dr. Clapp, but Mr. Marquardt will be absent from the fields for some time on furlough, his x health necessitating that he should take a rest. Dr. Clapp said the geologists would first make a reconnaissance of the whole of Taranaki in a search for further possible oil boring areas, and when these, if any, had been located, a detailed survey would be made to determine the site of the bore. Where it would be no one knew at the present time. '