Petroleum.

Waipawa Mail, Volume XXVII, Issue 5118, 8 June 1907, Page 4

Petroleum.

Possibilities of an Australasian Supply.

The world’s petroleum supplies are confined to a few centres. Indeed, the wells of Borneo, Java, and Sumatra, together with those in parts of Russia and America, form the main avenues of production, and, considering the many uses to which this mineral is now put, and the heavy demands that are made in all European centres as well as in the East for the oil for illuminating purposes, the spirit for motor power, the lubricating oil, the wax used in the manufacture of candles, and the residue which takes the place of coal, it is no wonder that the petroleum industry is making headway. However, there is just the danger, owing to the extensive uses to which this product is being put, that the supplies may not be equal to the demand.

The Australian market is at present furnished with all its requirements by the Dutch, and a little from America. However, according to the testimony of Mr George Adams, there ig a possibility of a local supply being obtained for the Australasian people within the near future. Mr Adams, for the purpose of escaping an English winter, has within the last few months been touring Australia and New Zealand. He is at present in Sydney en route to London. During the last 30 years Mr Adams has gained practical experience of the workings of oil fields in many countries. He and Marvin, one of the world’s recognised authorities on petroleum, were among the pioneers of the oil fields of Galicia (Austria). Mr Adams also opened fields in Java, Sumatra, and Borneo. Conversing with a press representative, he candidly pronounced himself as a pes simist in his views on the working of petroleum. While he recognised that a great deal of money had been made in the industry, he could not forget the very heavy amounts that had been lost in sinking wells that proved failures. Hundreds of thousands of pounds had been thrown away on ventures which, in his opinion, should never have been undertaken. That statement prompted the question, Has any of ibis money been sunk in Australia ?

o,” replied Mr Adams. “In 1889 an attempt was made to put down a well in the Coorang district near Adelaide, but with unsatisfactory results, and the scheme was abandoned. Ido not think there is the slightest possibility of petroleum being obtained in Australia in payable quantities; but I do think that in New Zealand we have a country that is rich with such oils. I have just come from New Plymouth, and there I found possibilities of a great future in the production of petroleum, but at the same time it will require a large amount of capital and careful working in order to secure good results. I found that the oil was being got at present by a local company in payable quantities at a depth of 2310 ft., and this company is still drilling more wells. I also found that the oil had been thoroughly tested by Messrs A. F. Craig and Co., of Paisley, Scotland, who reported that it was of exceptional quality, and was the most superior they had examined.” What impressions did you form as to the possibilities of a future trade here ?

“ I believe, and I speak with a lengthy and varied experience, that it would be possible to go to New Plymouth and invest capital and make money ; in other words, open up a large field sufficiently strong to render the Australasian market independent of foreign supply. At the present time the world’s supply and demand of petroleum must be reckoned upon from two standpoints—first, the commercial aspect, and, secondly, the political side of the question. Dealing with the commercial view of the subject, the many uses to which this product is now being put make it an important item in the commercial market. As an illuminating agent as well as a lubricating oil, petroleum is largely in demand, and is regarded as superior to anything else at present offering. The same may be said about the spirit used for motor power. From the wax large quantities of candles are manufactured, and then wo come to the residue, which, as you know, largely takes the place of coal; and this fact opens up the political aspect of the subject, for at the present time

the British Admiralty is experimenting with liquid fuel with every measure of success. Indeed, experts claim that one ton of oil is equal to two tons of coal. However, the more the naval Powers use petroleum as a fuel the greater the demand will be in the European markets, and this fact, together with the increase in the general use for illuminating and motor work, might some day lead to the supplies of the Australian market being cut short, and then, and then only, will the people awaken to the importance of having a local supply of this oil. It is at their very doors, but how they are going to get it, and in what quantities, only the drill will prove. It is in volcanic disturbed countries like New Zealand that success has been looked for and met with in the search for petroleum ; but, on the other hand, there are flaws in the oil-bearing belts in a broken country Buch as New Zealand, which makes it rather difficult to follow the line of oik In Java, for instance, oil is not found where it ought to be, and I remember on one occasion that a man boring for water struck an oil well in Java which soon proved its richness. Java, however, affords an instance of the great development that may be achieved by a country through the exploitations of the oil industry, In 1896 there was very little business done in oil in Java. Now that country not only supplies her own needs, but controls the market in the East. The capital of the Dutch companies runs into £5,000,000, and big dividends are paid. The industry, of course, is largely helped by Government concessions. Cheap labour also helps the companies, and that is a question which would have to be seriously considered in the opening up of Australasian wells. The high rate of wages that rules in New Zealand and also in Australia, as compared with other petroleum-getting centres, would of course havo its effect in the open market.”

What indications did you chiefly find in your recent visit to New Zealand which led you to believe that oil was there in abundance ?

“Well, Now Zealand differs from other countries in this respect, that the indications are widespread. Elsewhere the oil, I havo always found, makes its appearance perhaps at intervals of 50 miles, but in the New Plymouth district I found indications in all directions. Of course, lam not unmindful of this tact, that the oil which is found in small streams may have been carried Borne distances by the streams. This makes it difficult to locate exactly the spot whore the oil rises, and it is only by steady testing with the bore that the truth will be discovered. However, I am convinced of a great future in the oilproducing qualities of the southern hemisphere, and that from a commercial and political basis, the Australasian people will some day be no longer dependent on the already limited supplies coming from the other producing centres of the world.”