ANOTHER BLOW.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18203, 2 March 1929, Page 7

ANOTHER BLOW.

AT THE BLENHEIM BORE. By T«lej;raph—Preas Association. NEW PLYMOUTH, March 1. A terrific “blow-out” occurred at Blenheim oil bore this afternoon, only mud being forced to a great height by the strong pressure of gas. The derrick was flooded with oil and mud, and the locality to leeward was drenched for several chains. Residents in the district and large numbers of visitors to H.M.S. Dunedin, at the wharves, were startled by the roar of gas that accompanied the blow-out, and mud and small stones and debris falling on the roofs of houses several chains away, gave the impression that a heavy downpour of rain had commenced. For about an hour and a half, the Company says, oil had been flowing from the bore, while the bailing plunger was being worked, the oil sometimes spurting to a height of 20 feet. The blow-out had been anticipated for several days. For a period, considerable excitement reigned in the locality. Heralded by an ominous roar, the pungent smelling liquid gushed up inside the derrick, forcing its way out through every opening and leaping to a considerable height above the derrick. A breeze carried the greasy outflow across several sections. The seven-inch casing, 2047 feet of it weighing about 16 tons, was lifted about sixteen feet from the bore, and the pipe connection bore, with oil reservoirs, was blown away at a coupling. Gradually the blowout exhausted its violence and subsided to quietness. Officials of the Company state that the bore was then filled with greasy mud, and the casing slowly sank back into its place. The bottom of the seven-inch casing is at a level of 2/47 feet, where the Company states there is a large quantity of debris loosened by the previous blast. That blast, they consider, opened up an additional reservoir of oil and gas.