PETROLEUM.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 143674, 19 December 1911, Page 5

PETROLEUM.

OIL BORING AT KOTUKU,

Boring operations for oil are still progressing at Kotuku without anything very new or strange to record. But one of those curious and unaccountable accidents that do sometimes occur, happened in the shape of one of tho tools getting into the bore. As it was forma to be impossible to get tho tool out by any other means, it was cut iuto pieces by tho drill and came out in the form of steel chips. The incident, of course, led to a little delay by tho unprofitable drilling entailed ; nut everything seems to bo going along very satisfactorily at present. There are now four experienced drillers employed. Tho bore is down about VoO feet, and in a short time it ought to be deeper than the depth reached in Mr. Smith’s bore. As he was over three years engaged on that, and it is only a. few men the since tho two Galicians began boring, it will most probably be thought that they have been fairly successful. ©no of Air. Smith’s greatest difficulties was in extracting broken reameds, which gave endless trouble liefo.ro tho fragments were fished up. The rock at present being bored scorns to bo a sort of pretty hard mudstone, but not of the firm texture of tho somewhat similar formation gone through in tho bore at Dcbson. In other respects tho deposits penetrated are very much alike, being wholly sedimentary. This is usually tho experience until tho “royal sand,” the seat of the- oil deposit, is reached. As it was at first announced that the company contemplated putting down other bores within tho prospecting:area over which rights' Have been acquired,- ■ Kotuku cohoes, reaching this' far say that the company are. now considering tho advisability of shortly starting another bore. This would seem to bo borne out by tho fact that boring operations have not yot commenced on the Danncvirko oil property acquired some time ago. As the company belong to that good old English school that will not allow anything in tho shape of “booming” any of their undertakings, if it could possibly bo prevented, perhaps wc owo them an apology for passing on to the public tho echoes that reach here from Kotuku. But the public is naturally 1 interested in the enterprise; and so long as there is no attempt to boom or its properly, no harm can be done to anyone. The company have ground enough to require more than half a dozen .bores to properly prospect the area. It is seen from a London paper'by the last mail that a wonderfully prolific well has . been tapper] at Alorcni, in Roumania, at something over 800 ft, that is going to make all hands rich in “a little loss than no time,” and all the rest of that kind of anticipation. And why not find as good a well at Kotuku, especially as the quality of tho oil is unsurpassed for by-products, according to tho latest analysis?—Grey River Argus.