TOOLS BLOWN UP 1300 FEET

Taranaki Daily News, 31 July 1931, Page 9

TOOLS BLOWN UP 1300 FEET

GAS PRESSURE IN MOTUROA BORE. DRILLS RECOVERED YESTERDAY. A heavy flow of inflammable gas from the bottom of the well, 2080 feet down, caused a blow-out at the No. 2 bore of the Moturoa Oil Fields Company id New Ply mouth yesterday morning. So strong was the pressure that a string of 8-inch drilling tools weighing about two and a-half tons was blown to within 7'oo feet of the surface and jammed. They were recovered about mid-day. Speaking to a Daily News reporter, Mr. C. N. Taylor said they were very fortunate to recover the tools so soon and with so little trouble. The operations had reached a critical and hopeful stage and though the flow was not expected so soon, it was a promising feature. The gas, which was highly inflammable, was coming from the old wells in the vicinity. A test for water, which had been shut off, had proved satisfactory, and when the blow-out occurred the bore was being cleaned out and deepened a few feet. The gas was quickly placed under control.

The directors of the Blenheim Oil Well Reclamation Company issue the following report:—Swabbing has been continued successfully. Production . and gas pressure have been steadily maintained. ,