PETROLEUM.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 144071, 16 April 1913, Page 2

PETROLEUM.

THE TARANAKI INDUSTRY. A CHRISTCHURCH APPRECIATION (Special to Herald.) CHRISTCHURCH, iprfl 15. The petroleum industry at New Plymouth is dealt with in a leading article in the Christchurch Press this morning. After briefly tracing the pioneering work on the Moturoa fields, the article proceeds: “There is no doubt that the field is now in process of being tested in the most up-to-date and thorough fashion, and the problem will be settled either one way or the other. The results achieved by the Taranaki Petroleum Company were sufficiently promising to induce the formation of a much larger company, known as the Taranaki (N.Z.) Oil Welle, Ltd., with shareholders in London and New Zealand, 'to take over the property and proceed to develop it in the most-ener-getic manner under the best expert advice and supervision, and with the use of the latest, appliances. Two wells taken over by the new company are yielding about 120 barrels a week, and there are about 500,000 gallons in store. The company, with what most people consider a good deal of courage, are erecting a refinery capable of dealing with 10,000 gallons of crude : petroleum a day. Needless to say the output will have to be very , considerably increased if the works are to be run at a profit. Not only is the company putting down other wells, but at least, two syndicates, in which Christchurch investors are largely interested, have acquired oil rights for considerable .tracts of land in the district, and steps to test these are being taken under the / direction of Mr. Federowicz, a highlyskilled engineer, especially selected for the position hy Sir Boverton Redwood, the chief authority on petroleum in England, who acts as adviser to .the British Admiralty and the Board of Trade. Mr. Pederowicz is a young man, but has had considerable experience in connection with the petroleum industry in various parts of the world. His father was also a petroleum engineer, and discovered the oil fields in Galicia, _ which have since proved so productive. The work in connection with the erection of the refinery is well . in hand and much of the heavy machinery and plant has been put in position.” • ■ ;■ J A good portion of the article following these observations is devoted to a description of tho process of refining petroleum, and then the article proceeds; “The point of ywet interest to bur readers is the fact that the Taranaki oil deposits are being thoroughly tested in the most approved and comprehensive manner. ■ Seeing how the use of petroleum products is increasing there is no doubt that it will be a , magnificent thing for the Dominion at large should this oil field turn out to be a commercial success. Probably oil would he used exclusively, instead of coal, in the British Navy, but for the doubt as to the maintenance of sufficient supplies without a considerable increase in price, and its use'is being rapidly extended in the case of the mercantile marine. Other districts in New Zealand besides Taranaki present every appearanace of being petroliferous, notably on the East Coast of the North Island, near Akitio, and Kotuku on the Wst Coast of'this island. Should the Taranaki venture prove successful, development work Will be actively pushed on in other promising districts. AH that can be said, eveu of the , Taranaki district, at present is that there are encouraging indications, hut, until the wells have been sunk _ and petroleum has been obtained in payable quantities, no one can say positively what the future of tho industry ia--Kke-ly to be.” ■