FOUND, LOST AND FOUND AGAIN

Taranaki Daily News, 18 December 1930, Page 3 (Supplement)

FOUND, LOST AND FOUND AGAIN

Riddle of The Oliferous Sands

gaone Road, near Inglewood, at Bell Block and in various other localities. Indeed, it is said that over 40 bores have been sunk to date in Taranaki. The position in 1913, at the-time -‘ the refinery was opened, seemed promising'enough; Wells not producing oil were returning 'natural gas under strong pressure. It is recorded that gas from Nos. 2 and 3’ bores of the Taranaki Petroleum Company was used in the company’s furnaces,-thereby making a fuel saving o-f . fully £8 a week for each wellThen for one reason or another the wells began to fail, one of the chief troubles being the inability of those concerned to keep out- the . water -permanently. ' The war commenced; the money market tightened; the search for oil languished; the refinery gradually'became "idle! for want (of sufficient quantities of raw material, and. finally -the expensive machinery'.Was shipped to ; (the , Persian Gulf for use- by the Anglo-Persian. Oil-Company. For ' ; some years after that tho principal reminders of the vanished industry were, empty pockets,-share scrip that was practically valueless and half'a-dozen gaunt, grey-battehed derricks -pointing forlornly to the'sky. . ’'/?''/».?/-/; ' ‘ Then, suddenly, there was a. revival of interest. With a nominal capital of 1 £500,000 a company was formed in Australia’arid named "’l’aranaki Oil Fields, - Ltd. It sent Dr.' F. ’G; Clapp, an eminent pit geoid-'/ gist; : td New Plymouth and/, following his favourable report, in 1924 a bore at Tarata was sunk 5010 feet. - Later- another derrick .was' erected :at:Moturoa, :. oh. the beach near the site of the original well of 1865. The drill there reached a? depth pf- over -4000 < feet and tapped ’gas? that escaped with? considerable. Audience. Enthusiasm-ran high, 'but once more the results were not - exactly -. whatf was required ;and: i.n.. \ fl 92(> the new company; abandoned /its Tarariaki •wells in t favour of leases (held/by. it on .'the East . Coast. '. :•/.■■/' ■ .X? ,■■?■.;;'//?■/?. //?;■//’'?■ In the meantime interest had 'been . revived , throughout New-Zealand and Apstrajia. The Blenheim Oil .Well Reclamation Company, Ltd. was' formed with a nominal capital' of. £5,000, subsequently ' raised to £20,000. The object of the' company- was. . to reclaim the-'Blenheim fibre? put 'flowii- in) the . halcyon days by Mr. ; Von FedOruwiez/ ah Austrian expert. The endeavour was to obtain.-oil from the ■ 'ldvel of 21'73 feet ■ from whichbit'-flo-vVed before' the war. In • those days,' too, i.fhe/precious, stuff (had. flowed from the 2211' feet' horizon.; -However,-in the , ' hope of obtaining better ..production . from a. lower •strata, the- points-of supply .were; shut [off and the;■well taken to 57fK) .feet - w-ithput success.; / '■ ? About the • beginning of ?1928 ’the present company: re-ran the lOunch/’casing, .cemented off the' 'water and then-went down,'inside., with? 7,-inch? '. ing’ to the oil horizon. After bailing water for six/ weeks, .oil’ began to flow in considerable quantity 'hetvieen the .two casings ' from 21/3 feet; It/was when an attempt was made to get the’ oil ( to - flow., . through the’centre casing' that trouble occurred;’ a blow-off 'of- gas collapsed' the casing. Experts decided it would be cheaper to drill a new wgll than to repair the old one, and sb it ’was decided to put down' another /fibre,; 120 feet' distant from ?/ ■the old -One? . ; ‘ ■This well, known as No. 2, is how down io '2lOO feet. .Oil showed at 900-and 1550 feet. y'Uhfortun■ately, however, there was a gas blow-out at 2100 feet and. this sent, the tools up<the- well a,nd- jambed them. Bad luck came- again when the company; .lost ’its fishing tools.' (Some of' the 'lost gear was ■recovered, Biit fishing operations had to be-Con-tinued for a long -time. j It is' the.-intention of the company, which recently obtained the - services of •Mr. Arthur Moore as’ expert, to go bn drilling in", expectation of finding'oil between 2140 and 2173 feeft./ ‘ "k- - •’’ •,' ‘ ' • Ehe■ formation of Coal, Oil (New Zealand), Ltd.,

!a few years ago. was remarkable for two reason*. ■First, its nominal’ capital. of- £750,000 made it easily the largest-.company that ’had yet undertaken the ; v quest in New Zealand; and; secondly, it introduced ; to the Dominion, a new method /of locating oil, A This- was . the Elbof .geophysical survey, which . claims scientifically to supplehient the work.-of the ■ geologist with the aid -of elaborate instruments that chart the minerals in the bowels of the eartn, The geophysical .survey having, been made and reported on, the company decided to put its No. 1 bore down at Omata, about 1J miles south of , Moturoa, near the coast. Here a modern steel der- .. .. rick was erected and. in ' contrast., with the pther •wells in operation, the -rotary system of grilling •was employed.’ This will make it -possible, accord-. , ing tp Dr. Leoff Bossard, the company’s geologist, ; ? to penetrate; if. necessary,’:to; a\depth o* / 009 feet, ; ■ or more. Drilling was commenced at the end of, -; ■ April/ 1030,-and. by/the, beginning (of November the. > ■ : •well was down 2917 feet.- iCasing measuring ?21} -- inches was run., to approximately 400 feet, 16-inch to "2000 feet, arid Uirinch- tpi 2917 feet. _ Drilling ■ is l now’ to proceed with a diameter providing for • the. running-of.-8 5-8-inchrcasi,ng. Oil. and. indications have been met at. various- depths : and ■ 'hayri lately'increased/a. ;gbdd .deal in persistency ; : • and volume. Cores and’ drilling samples seem to ■ indicate that 2850 feet'the) drill began to. pene- . ; trate. the- uppermost' horizons; of : the lower Urenui 'formation, in which the ■ oil-producing horizons at -.- ■Mpturpa are said to be situated. The next,thousand -feet are .expected to mark "the first-interesting;? ■ .(stage s of..the? Oriiata No. '1 'bore.' ,'. ; ’-. ■ Moturoa Oilfields, ’ Lt‘d./ /the :owner of the well . : ’ thai. has'been 'giving oil-recently,- has been, in ex/asterice less than a year. Its nominal capital! ; is -. ? l£loo,obo, and its ’object is? to/develop..leaseholds, and" ■ oj! rights acquired from Tarririaki (New Zealand): .?* Oil Fields, Ltd., together r plant and / geological reports and?,data.'/(The company's No. ■ ' 1 well stands beneath a steel derrick almost in the. . /• shadow of Pariiutii arid’ mdt /very far from • the ' ’? ■‘ Breakwater* Rohd? and/ pbrt.l J Despite ./ the -short. ;< iperibd ' it /has been' in -operation the company'.has - / alrbady driiled’ by the method more thaii /. / 8.000-.feet-rind’ has succeeded: improving, two ■produc- .’" / /tive' horizons—one.- at 2300. feet and the. other at / -2700’feet. Blit, as further 'oil 'horizon wasite-;// • ported below 800-0' feet in':the old : ,’.No.’ 3 .well of:;/. - other days it has been decided to test -this depth.. /- Failing,-additional’ production;there, however, it /s ' / .’.•stated: there ’is every’.reasbn,-"to; believe - a payable ./ : we!!can-be-developed*ftom-, the.levels already proved. From 2300 .feet: oil has'.flpwed at intervals reX ;/< eently, as much as/10 ibarr.els at a; time. This pro- '/? duction comes up between the;.Sj-inch and ,6£-inch ; teasings arid is being released -from the horizon that -/ ■ -has produced the bulk;pf 'ther3o,ooo 'barrels already./' obtained,-from the Moturoa field. Bailing tests'made /: at/ 2700 feet have -given an Average' -produetion . of > six barrels daily arid if proper pumping methods ■are adopted the management: considers this could ■ / (be increased/to 10 or T2 barrels daily. , The’last, company- to coirie’. into, the (field was :/ New Plymouth (New 'Zealand) 'Oil, Wells,- Ltd.,?/;/, which, with a nominal capital of £IOO,OOO, has erect-' cd an English steel derrick, supplemented'by Eng- ?/ lish plant, and, is commencing: drilling, on :a site ■?. between the Moturoa. and Omata (bores' and about / 400 yards.froih the former. ' ;// V. / - '. ’ . 1. - In addition to these bores around New Plymouth ? ; there are two at Whanganiomona. One of them :'/ belongs to the iWharigamomona Petroleum Prospect-. ing" and Developing Ltd., (nominal capital of/// £10,000) and the other ‘to Messrs. McGregor . and; ; 7 (McLeod. The first is situated .about seven miles past the’township, and' has been sunk 635 feet? by ! a water-flush drill. At this point sand began • te cQme in and drilling for a: time. ■/•s/