THE TARANAKI OIL WELLS, LID.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1815, 30 July 1913, Page 9

THE TARANAKI OIL WELLS, LID.

THE LEADER OF THE FLOCK.

>. DESCRIPTION OF THE REFINERY.

"A GREAT STBiULANT TO THE INDUSTRY."

Thus greatest credit- is duo to the Taranaki Oil Wells, Ltd., for the part it lias played in the development of an industry that is calculated to bring New Plymouth and tho Dominion of Snv Zealand before the eyes of tlie world. This is the company which was formed out of the Tarnnaki Petroleum C'o., and has taken a lead in (lie right direction at a time momentous in the history of the industry. It may surprise the outside public to know that this company has

three wells running slcadilv. Tho flow in no case is heavy, but still there is sufficient to give renewed faith to sharehold31.r. J. D. Henry, who has an <icC|uaintanco with nearly every oil-field in the world, states that'"N\i. well constitutes a record for the world in that it has been running continuously now for three years without the use of the pump. Naturally then a great deal at' oil has been "tanked" away underground—a matter of tonio 500,001) barrels. This could

not. be left there indefinitely, and as the indications favoured big Hows being tapped at any time, the natural sequence of events suggested a refinery to deal with present initl future oil. This refinery was opened on Monday afternoon with great eclat, and amidst general rejoicing. No one at a distance can appreciate the intense interest a view of tli« works creates. To see the great slills with thenliquid fuel furnaces, straining off the various oils according to their volatility through devious pipes and tanks, until finally tiiey emerge in the form of petrol, kei-osene, paraffin wax, etc. That the products of tho refinery are quite up to tho standard can be proved by plenty of people in New Plymouth. Motor-ears and cycles have been running round the country for the past week, and all users testify to the high-grade quality of (lie petrol. It was a disiinct novelty, for ex-

rived before the buildings were ready to receive it. In order to hurry on tlio work it was necessary to crcct the machinery for the Henderson stoves More the walls were built. .If this building had been erected of concrete in place of brick it is very doubtful if I lie cost would hove bteti less; certainly, it would have taken longer to complete iho work, because if concrete had been used workmen could not have passed between the machinery and the walls with barrows and )h» material would have had to he. handled in buckets. PROGRESS OF THE WORK, The directors will no doubt desiro to have a short statement covering the progress of the work of erection. Mr. Millar arrived in New Plymouth in July, 191:!, n::d a few days later a refinery site behind Mo 1 uriM rioi'o So. - was selected. It was

ample, to see the refinery manager supply his motor-cycle from the petrol tank oil the ground, and a minute afterwards go whirling New Plymouthwards at the rate of .'!ll miles per hour. It was a practical illustration of what this great industry may mean to Now Zealand. As for a detailed description of the refinery wo cannot do better than qucto from Mr. J. D. Henry's recent report to the board of directors in Loudon (the chairman of which is our ex-Governor, Lord Kanfurlv, K.C.M.G.). Tho report rends as follows:— POSITIONAL ADVANTAGES. Dealing, first of all, with tho refinery eite, it is not open to doubt that the selection of (his was beyond criticism. This fact is fully .appreciated now that tho work of erection has been completed. The general advantages of tho site are:— (1) Although the refinery is adjacent to tho wells there aro no external fire risks. (2) The site is connected with tho Breakwater railway by means of a back shunt, .roughly some 500 l'eet in length. (3) It is within half a inilo of tho Breakwater, the point of delivery for exported oil. (4) There is a large water catchment area on the north-east, boundary of (he site, and a dam has been built with tho earth excavated from the railway cutting—an arrangement involving tho Company in no additional expense. (5) The contour of the ground lias enabled Mr. Millar to arraugo a layout which gives the Company every possible advantage accruing from An easy gradient and a minimum cost of pumping. (B) Tho proximity of the refinery to the wells permit of the use of tho natural gas for fuel 1 purposes. A careful consideration of tho financial and engineering features of the refinery justifies the statement that some of tho advantages aro quite unique. As it is claimed that tho refinery has been erected in . record time, I desire to state that the delivery of plant and machinery has given the Advisory Board and Mr. Millar complete satisfaction. There has not been a single mistake of a serious nature from the day of the first shipment of cases by .Messrs. A. I''. Craig and Co., from Paisley. It is also a fact that the work of creation has been carried out without a hitch, mishap or disagreement with labour. These facts are extremely important .considering that the refinery lias been eroded 13,000 miles from the pl.ice of manufacture and ill a part of the Empire where there is a scarcity of skilled labour and tho labour conditions are extremely onerous. MATERIALS. Careful attention has been given to the selection of building materials for (ho various units. For the stills a good local brick has been used; this brick, which has excellent fire-resisting properties, has been found in every way moro suitable than reinforced concrete. Complete arrangements have been mod's for tho insulation of the cold room in the paraffin shed: This has been securcd by means of double walls, made of brick and coated with paint, on arrangement which is more economical than the use of reinforced concrete. As (lie directors are aware, some time elapsed after Mr. Millar arrived before permission was obtained from the Land Board to proceed with tho erection of the rtlinerv, and some of tho machinery ar-

•not, however, until September 23 that negotiations with tho Land Board wero sulliciently advanced to allow of the starting of operations. On that dalo tho work of levelling for the bench of stills preparatory to excavating the foundations was .started. At tho samo timo gravel, cement and other building materials wero being carried to tho site, and on October 10 the conereto foundations lor tho stills were laid. l)y October 29 tho foundations for tile parallin shod wero finished, whilo lliosa for tho Henderson sweating stoves wero completed by the middlo ot' December, in which month tho foundation work and walls for tho spirit still, washers and chimney wero also laid. Tho brick work for tho stills (started on November 1) was raised high enough to allow of tho stills being put in position by January 15. Tho walls for tho paraffin shed wero started on October 20, and early in April tho brick work, foundations for the engines, and the ferroconcrete roof over the cold room were all completed. Tho walls of tho stoves (started on January 15) were completed Ciy April 2. Tho white wax refinery (started on April 15) wag completed by Juno 20, and the smaller buildings, tho acid and soda washers, spirit still, ainl tho chimney pedestal before June 1. Largo quantities of concreto have been used in the buildings. It has been used at tho spirit stills, washers, steam boilers, sump for Henderson stoves, and the. reinforced concreto roofs in the Henderson stoves and parallin shed. Tho prico of tho conereto foundation work has averaged about ,£1 lis. per yard, whilo t'hut paid for tho brick work iu tho walls lias been £2 Gs. per yard. MACHINERY SECTION. Early in October Mr. 11. M'Lay> (Messrs. Craig's boilermaker) arrived, and, whilo . waiting for the first consignment of plant, ho was employed on tool-making and scaffolding work. Mr. 1/cannouth (Craig's engineer) arrived at tho end of October. (I may state that tho engineer and boilermaker gavo every satisfaction. M'Lay, whoso engagement finished on Juno 18, has returned to Scotland, whilo Learmouth will remain on tho property as engineer.) The first consignment of Craig's- plant reached New Plymouth at the end of October, ,mu! for tho storage of the moro valuable 'parts of tho plant and machinery a storo building (25 feet span by CO feet long) was erected early in October. The second shipment (chiefly machinery) arrived on December IC, whilo the firstpart of the third shipment came to hand about tho end of January, by which time a considerable amount of fitting and riveting work had been done. Two boiler stills, three receiver tanks, four hydraulic presses, two ccolers, wax conveyors, and a number of tho tanks were ready for placing in position. At tho beginning of April the boiler and cokeing stills .were all in position, tho machinery in the paraffin shed was erected, tho steam boilers were set, and a start had been made with tho sloam mains to the various buildings. The iron chimney (100 i'cot high) had also been erected and painted, and by the. end of .May most of tho tank's were completed, in svll some 130,000 rivets being driven. Tho Boyer pneumatic riveters (two riveting machines and three caulking tools) proved a great saving in time and money-indcod it would have Ijeen difficult to have got on without them as skilled riveters aro scarce in New Zealand and most of tho work had to be dono with unskilled labour. The' erection and fitting work about the various buildings was well advanced on May 30, when steam was raised in tho boilers for the first time. Tho fires were lighted under the stills on June 1, and on Jnno 17 the oil was turned into tho stills by Captain Halsev/of the H.JI.S. New Zealand, in the presence of tho loc.nl directors and others, THE REFINING PROCESS. Tho crude oil of these fields has a paraffin base. It yields on refining petrol, benzine, kerosene, gas oil, lubricating oil, paraffin wax, paraffin coke, and liquid tar. These various products aro mostly separated by .heat distillation,, lint freezing or cold mechanical pressure in filters and'treatment with chemicals; afe also employed to induce tho repartition of tile various constituents. Tho crudo from tho wells is first: put into largo tanks, where- it is maintained in a fluid state by means of an internal steam coil to allow water and sediment to settle oilt. It is then ran into the crude oil stills, where it is distilled at different temperature;. In the first still the temperature is r-.-gulated to evaporate the crude petrol or benzine. The remaining oil runs in a continuous stream from the bottom of the first into tho second still, where it is heated to a much higher temperature, and the kerosene, gas oil, and part of tho lubricating oil and paraffin wax are evaporated. The residuum . then flows into tho coking stills in which the temperature is raised and the oil evaporated, leaving nothing but coke. Each still has a condenser, consisting of pipes .submerged' in cold water in connection with (lie vapour outlet pipe and all the vapours are passed through these and condensed on their way to the worm end. Tho different oils aro run into the receivers by separate pipes. The. process up to this point gives crude spirit,' a mixture of all the.other- oils called "once distilled oil," and paraffin coke, which includes the impurities in tho oil separated by the distillation. The crude henzilio is then pumped to a separate still, where it is heated and distilled by steam only and separated into petreil, benzine, and residuum. Tho petrol and benzine aro then finished products, and 1 tho residuum is pumped back and, mixed with the "onco distilled oil" from the crude oil si|ill=. This oil is then pumped to the paraffin extraction house, where the oil and wax are sonaratcd. It then passed through two nil coolers in which it is ccolsd and then conveyed to the filter presses. Tho pressure forces the oil through Iho filler cloth, and the wax. being solid, is retained. When the filler presses arc filled with solid wax Iho valves are closed, the press is opened, and the rales of wax falls into a screw conveyer, which carries it into the hydraulic press-house. If is then put into packs and powerful livdranlic presses squeeze out the remaining oil. There is an ammonia refrigerating machine for tlic cooling of (he oil and the regulation of tho temperature of this part of the building. This oil (with 1 tho oil from flio filter presses) is pumped to the acid washers, where it is mixed with sulphuric acid in a. large vessel with comj-shape bottom, compressed air being blown in at the bottom to mix the acid thoroughly with oil. After allowing it to settle for some liours the acid and .impurities aro run off in the form of a liquid tar. Tho oil then flows into a separate vessel and is treated with caustic soda, to neutralise (he acid: after allow ins (hi* to s -"' e the can-tic soda and soda tar formrd with i! are run into a tank with the tar and acid from tho acid washer. This neutralises tl:.e chemicals and yields tar suitable for liquid fuel. The oil is returned to (he lino oil boiler and separated into kerosene ami gas oil. The bottoms from the distillation are then run into -a coking still and distilled, giving lubricating oif. The distillation (lubricating oil) contains. a little paraffin wax and is now sent back to the parallin extraction house, where it is again .fio7.cn and pressed (o give tho finished lubricating oil. The kerosene and gas oil are also iu a finished state and ready for tine market. 11l tho refining of paraffin wax, the crude wax from the hydraulic, filter presses is melted and pumped to tanks on tire roof of flic Henderson stoves, whence it is run into (lie sweating stoves, largo chambers containing a. number of shallow pans for the reception of wax. It is f lieu cooled and crystallised by allowing air fo circulate through the building, which is fitted with largo sliding dco'rs. When cooled the slaves are closed and steam turned into the healing.coil and the temperature gradually raised. This melts out (he low melting point paraffin wax, which melts at. a lower temperature than Il«e bulk, and which, flowing away fo iho oullet pine, carries with it (ho oil with which (ho wax is still slightly coloured. Tho temperature is then raised and (ho different, grades of refined wax in the stove are melted out and run into a separate receiver. The refined wax is now pumped over fo the paraffin treating lioui-o to be mixed with decolourising powder, which takes out the remaining colouring mailer, and then filtered and run info-cooling pans as finished paraffin wax. Steam for the refinery is generated in fhree boilers arranged for firing with liquid fuel or gas and there is an engineers' shop with the requisite tools to perform repairs iu a plant of this doscripl'oll' TIN-MAKING F*iANT. This plant is at the present time being eroded in a. corrueated iron building (.'ls feet span by 110 long). Tho building, in two tactions (ouq beiiitf .used for tlio plant

tlio volls at Molurca. A rotary drillinyr plant lias l»cn procured from America, ami drillers liavo arrived to put down a new boro near tlio former well. . Drilling will start on July 21. 3. Inglewood Oil Boring and Prospecting Co., Ltd.— This concern put down n well in tbo Inglewood district, but without getting oil. There was a strong gas show, which, .when lit. flamed at least feet high. Though t.his l;cro lias been abandoned nearly four years, it is still gassiiijr freely, and could Ixi rc-eased to tho bottom (2500 feet) in the event of opeva"tions boing resumed. ■L Taranaki Oil and Freehold Co., Lid.— Bought: 10 acres of frrrliold at Vcgoltown, a suburb of New Plymouth. Erected plant and put down a well of lnrgo diameter to about MOO leet. About 1200 feet sat a pood seam of oil. yielding about four barrels per dtiy._ ,Susp;>nded operations on exhaustion of funds. Plant intact. Awaiting developments. 5. Xcw Zealand Oiilicld.s, Li«.— 11/IU Cockspw Street, London, S.M liog'istered April, 1!)1U. Has not opemttd in 'l'aranalci, but is said to bs interested in options in the Inglewy-.ul district. G. The Inglewood (N.Z.) Oilfields Ltd — This company acquired a properly of the Moa Petroleum Company and some 20,000 acres of concessions obtained by Mr. T. C. 11. Kieholls. They recommenced operations in the Moa bore, which was obstructed with parted casings and lost tools. Alter eonsiilcrablo trouble these were passed, and the well was carried from .'l!i to feet. Good gas show was struck at ;!20 feet, another much stronger at sSf> feet, and a third at- (135 loot. Operations on this boro discontinued for IS month.-, but everything points to an early resumptiou of work. 7. Standard Oil Co. of N.Z., Ltd. (Tlio Dudley Co.).— This company drilled on the Carrington Koad, about seven miles inland from New Plymouth. It went into liquidation, and assets are»said to have been acquired by a concern registered in Clivistehureli a few weeks a<;o under tlie titlo of The International Petroleum and Minerals Development Corporation, Ltd., with a capital of ■MOO.OOO. 8. The International Company. Promoted in Christ-church cn concessions obtained by Mr. -Xieholls. Thc.-o options extend from Bell lilork to Tarala, and contain good gas emanations. 9. The Consolidated OillieUls, Ltd., of Taranaki.— .■CMO,OOO, Clirislclinreh. Yfill commence boring operations at lluiroa, Stratford, in about 10 days' time. This company is operating on GiOU acres, 10. Tlio Taranaki Oil Lauds Acquisition and Development Co., Ltd.— Mainly a. Blenheim enterprise, with Mr. Griffiths as managing director, la putting down a well at Moluroa closo to tho No. 5 boro of the Taranaki Oil Wells, Ltd, Prospects nro regarded as excellent,

ami tho other for filling), has Ijpoii conveniently crccted with a dtliveo* entrance at tho company's railway siding. Tho plant, supplied by Messrs. .1. Khodcn and Son, Ltd., Wakefield, lias .in output; of SCO tins per day. Tho rails- aro of tho hemmed hedge pattern, and there i.s an economy in tin plate mid solder owing totho ends being Lightly rolled by tlio steamrolling niachiiiio. The filling macliino is at the wellknown typo made by Sir. IL Simmon?, of London. Having gone over tho records of tho work dono by tho staff and the workmen and carefully .inspected tho plant and 1 machinery, I am aide to assuro tho directors that tho refinery lias been erected with the greatest possible care ami .skill. I have every confidence that it' will in practico • perform the work for which it has been designed and economic-. ally refine the many valuable products obtainable from New Zealand crudo oil< QUALITY OF THE OIL. • Somo considerable research! work on the crudo petroleum and its products lias been dono by tho analytical stall' of tho company. The results bear out in tho main tho statements contained in Messrs.! Craig's report of October. 1911. Tho'gen-; era! work, however, has for the most part; had for its object the fixing of illo cuts-' for tho refilled products, and the discovery of the liest methods of treatment to obtain tho niiximum yield of finished!' products from the crude oil 011 a working scalo and to succcs.-fully grade tho wax. Tho new laboratory is being built near, the centra of tho works.

11. Tho Christchurch Oil Co.. Ltd.— This Canterbury company was formed to take np tin. area of IG2 acres inland of Moturoa, known as "Marfeil's Farm," for which a high prico hfcs been paid on tho strength of the oil indicaatious. Some leading Christchurch juou are connected with this undertaking. • 12. Phoenix Oil Co., Ltd.— Recently formed in Christchurch to work an area of a few 'acres In the im- . mediate vicinity, of tho refinery at Moturoa. A plant luis just been placed on tho ground. Derrick erected. 13. United Co. (designation uncertain).— Understood to be of Christchurch origin and is operating. Drilling has just, been, started in tho Iluiroa district, a few miles easterly from Stratford. li. Ngamotu Oil Fields, Ltd.— This company, with a capital of .£50,01)0, is in process of flotation, and will go to allotment in tho near future. Tho ■. company has acquired rights on two cares at .Moturoa, in tho centre of. tho wells (Nos. 2, and 5) of the Taranaki (N.Z.) Oil "Wells, Ltd., the vendors. This being oil proven territory, no prospecting is .necessary, and two commercial wells will bo drilled simultaneously right down to oil. This company has a lotto of 40 acres at Bell Block, in cloio proximity to the No. 1 bore of tin, Taranaki Oil Wells, Ltd., and another lease of 14 -acres on the Frankley Itoad, , in a direct line between tho bores of the Taranaki Oil Wells, Ltd., and No. 1 boro of the Taranaki Oil and Freehold Company, Ltd. (2J miles south-east from Moturoa), in which a vein of oil his bean struck at 1385 feet. The promoters 'have great faith in the potentialities of this property, and consider that, strong gas and oil seepages warrant tho anticipation that drilling, will prove successful. i In addition to the above, three " companies are in tho course of formation, and .will commence operations in the near future in the Tarata and Iluiroa districts. • ' ,