OIL BORING AT GISBORNE

Taranaki Daily News, 16 June 1930, Page 11

OIL BORING AT GISBORNE

TABAN.4KI OILFIELDS DECISION. The management of Taranaki Oilfields announces its intention to drill a new well in the Waitangi area, 24 miles north and inland from Gisborne, saye a PrcnS Association message from Gisborne. Drilling at Mangaone, known as Gisborne No. 2 well, was abandoned on April 4 at 3910 ft., 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 prospects and have agreed that a further attempt be made at Waitangi, where the cretaceous sands lie considerably nearer the surface- than at Mangaone or More-re. 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 an oilfield there. Some shallow shafts and five or six wells have been sunk within an area of less than a square mile. One well was sunk in 1909 by the original Gisborne Oil Company, and it reached 1478 ft. For a short period it yielded about six barrels of oil a day from 604 ft. ■

Recent examinations have disclosed a position which is held to warrant the drilling of one, or possibly two, wells. It is stated the previous did not go to sufficient depth to reach. important oil horizon. The results of drilling at Waitangi will also indicate whether -the 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.