BORING FOR OIL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24828, 30 January 1942, Page 6

BORING FOR OIL

MOVE TO NEW SITE COMPANY'S INTENTION Prospects of further boring in search of oil were indicated at a sitting of the No. 4A Armed Forces Appeal Board in Gisborne, when the Gisborne manager of the New Zealand Petroleum Company, Ltd., Mr J. G. Stout, said there were possibilities of a further well being put down in the Gisborne district, and another in Taranaki. when the present Midhirst well reached a depth of about 11,000 feet.

"We are down to 10,779 feet now, and if we get to 11,000' feet that probably will be the limit," witness said, in reply to a question by the Crown representative in regard to the Midhirst work.

" What will you do then? " Mr Stout was asked, to which he replied they would move to another location.

The chairman: You will not give up in New Zealand?

Witness: No. There will probably be one more well over there, and possibly another here. Mr Stout said it was virtually impossible to replace three men appealed for, and without them the company would have to consider whether it could carry on. Following the closing of the work at Morere, the men had been moved to Taranaki, where the company had already lost men to the armed forces. The company now had only sufficient men to run one rig. The board- adjourned two appeals until after May 31 v/hen, it said, it hoped to know what the company intended to do. about new work, and by which time the present operations in Taranaki would be concluded.