PETROLEUM.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 143574, 12 August 1911, Page 2

PETROLEUM.

A Taranaki visitor who has been intimately connected with the oil, industry for many years gave a Christchurch Press representative some interesting information concerning the prospects of the oilfields. He stated that Mr. J. D. Henry, of London, who is one of the greatest authorities on oil, in the world, and .who visited Taranaki and made" investigations some time ago, was so favorably impressed with what he found that lie has acquired an option over the oilfields there for £IOO,OOO. ‘’There is a great boom pending in oil in Taranaki,” remarked the informant. “The chairman of the Taranaki Petroleum Company has gone Home at Mr. Henry’s request to sign the deeds for the formation of a company with a capital of £400.000. This will immediately let loose a capital of £120,000 for work-ing-the fields, which will mean a very bigthing for Taranaki. Over aqd above the Moturoa fields two other companies have been formed at Inglewood an I another at New Plymouth with £IOO,OOO capital each, while the flotation of two other companies is pending. “The No. 1 boro is down 2300 ft., and oil has been obtained at 2150 ft. and 2300 ft. Up to date the oil produced is 10,000 gallons. The details of the other bores are:—Ko. 2, down 3030 ft., oil obtained at 2200, 2500. 2700,' and 2900 ft,,/ oil produced 350,000 gallons; No. 3 bore (the deepest bore), 4018 ft., oil obtained at 2650, 3000, 3700, and 3988 ft., oil produced 120,000 gallons ; No. 4 bore, down 800 ft., good indications; No. 5 bore, down 2120 ft., good indications. Tho Taranaki Petroleum Company has already obtained the Government bonus of £2500 for producing the frist 250,000 gallons of oil in New Zealand, and as it lias produced over- 500,000 gallons it is entitled to another bonus of the same amount. The facts I have stated will convoy some idea of tho great future before Taranaki as far as the oilfields are concerned.”