TARANAKI OILFIELDS

Southland Times, Issue 21109, 14 June 1930, Page 7

TARANAKI OILFIELDS

NEW WELL TO BE DRILLED. DECISION OF DIRECTORS. (Per United Press Association.) Gisborne, June 13. The management of Taranaki Oilfields announces its intention to drill a new well in the Waitangi area 24 miles north inland from Gisborne. Drilling at Mangaone known as Gisborne No. 2 was abandoned on April 4 at 3910 feet owing to the impossibility of making further progress against adverse conditions, mainly due to caving ground. In the meantime the directors have been considering various projects and have agreed to a further attempt at Waitangi when cretaceious sands will be considerably nearer the surface than at Mangaone or Morere. The site of the new operations is adjacent to that of previous attempts to trace the origin of strong seepages of oil accompanied by gas, on the Waitangi hill. Intermittent efforts in the past have been made to develop the oilfield there. Some shallow shafts and five or six wells have been sunk within an area of less than a square mile. One well sunk in 1909 by the original Gisborne Oil Company, reached 1478 feet and for a short period yielded about six barrels of oil a day from 664 feet, financial troubles preventing further exploitation. Mr Clapp, eminent American geologist, selected the Waitangi Hill among areas most deserving of detailed geological investigation with a view to development of commercial oilfields. The company’s geological surveys first failed to satisfactorily interpret structural conditions. A further examination recently disclosed a position which was held to warrant drilling one and possibly two wells with excellent chances of commercial production. The management comments that the previous efforts never reached a sufficient depth to reach any important oil. The results of drilling at Waitangi well also indicate whether Mangaone and Morere domes should be persevered with. A rotary plant recently acquired from the United States will be used in conjunction with internal combustion engines. The announcement closes with the comment that the directors believe prospects of winning commercial oil to be never brighter and have no hesitation in recommending a continuance.