PETROLEUM

Taranaki Herald, Volume LV, Issue 14136, 16 February 1910, Page 3

PETROLEUM

There is little fresh to report from the petroleum wells at Moturoa. Drilling is proceeding steadily at both No. 2 and No. 3. In the latter a depth of about 2670,feet has been reached, and it is expected that the oil seam tapped at that depth in No. 2 will be struck very shortly. Commander Home, of H.M.S. Pegasus, has asked Mr. Carter, actingchairman of directors, to furnish him with full particulars of tho yield and analysis of the oil, and of its capabilities and cost as fuel, so that he may report to the Admiralty. Tho directors will invito the Admiral of the Australasian squadron to visit New Plymouth while ho is in New Zealand. EGYPTIAN OIL. In April of last year cabled information relating to the discovery of petroleum in Egypt was published throughout the Commonwealth. The site is at Jemsah, 160 miles south of Suez. At a meeting of the Egyptian Oil Trust held in London on December 29 last tho chairman said tho first well, after flowing at tho rate of over 300 barrels a day, had been shut down for want of storage room. A few months later the well had been tapped in ijhe presence of Mr. D. A. Sutherland, the general manager, when the pressure was so great as to give a flow of two gallons per minute. Since that time a second well had pierced the oil strata, and the production w-as quite equal to that of the other well. Two .other larger wells were going down; another was to be started within a few days, and boring plant for several other wells was on its way to Egypt. Analyses made by the Egyptian Government demonstrated that the oil was equal in quality to that of Ohio oil, hitherto regarded as the best in tho world. Tho position of this new oil field is a splendid one, being within a few hundred yards of the deep water of the Red Sea, which was tho great water way of the -world, through which a considerable portion of the world’s shipping passed. The chairman added that he attributed their success, which had been beyond their utmost sanguino anticipations, to the wonderful skill and judgment displayed by Mr. Sutherland, who had selected the sites of all the wells, and by reason of this report bad obtained amide capital for the work. Another £130.000, was about to bo provided for the greater development of this oil field under Mr, Sutherland’s management. In relation to tho above it may bo mentioned that Mr. Sutherland, who has achieved success in locating petroleum in Egypt, is also tho general manager and consulting engineer, Commonwealth Oil Corporation, which is expending over £1,000,000 sterling in the ,establishment of an oil .industry from New South Wales shale, and it was because of his,report and recommendations that this groat .work was undertaken, ■ ,