MR FAIR INTERVIEWED.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8103, 7 May 1906, Page 2

MR FAIR INTERVIEWED.

Mr Fair, in charge of the petroleum works, with Mr Henry Weston, one of the directors of the company, returned from a business visit to Wellington on Saturday evening. Interviewed by a representative of this journal, Mr Fair expressed himself us well satisfied with the result of the visit. You succeeded with what you had in view H—"As things stand I cannot just now go into details. Later, however, we will have no objection to your publishing particulars and what the arrangements for the future will be. Still, I might say that everything is most satisfactory."

Judging from the papers a great deal of interest is being taken in the oil well in Wellington?—" Yes; consulerable, One man assured me that it was talked about more than any other subject. Confidence and sympathy is expressed on all sides." There seems to be a great deal of scepticism apparent amongst many of the New Plymouth folk concerning the prospects of the oil, remarked the interviewer.—"That may be, but it does not wo/ry me in the least, because I I'a ye met the same kind of thing befo: e, We can affo.'d to treat with indifference this clement. Kcsults talk and nothing else. We have the results. Personally, I have iittlc time for the sceptics that come bothering me. 1 show them the oil, and tell them that it is there, and it they don't like it they know what to do,"

'' A favorite statement of these sceptical ' folk is that the oil that you have got is only a " pocket," and may give out at any time?—" People without kuoiv- ■ ledge will say anything. Hut in regard to this matter, there is no doubt ' in my mind that the bore is lapping a ■■ vast field. There is every indication that this is the ease. Before procccd- ; iug with the bore—quite two years ago - I examined the indications. They 1 were highly satisfactory. Why, had ' lliey not been so, I should not have ' undertaken the work. At any time you can go oat now on the sea beach and skim cupfuls of oil from the sea water, showing that an outlet of (he oil is somewhere in the water near the shore. But about the ' pocket.' IE it were so, we wouldn't have the enormous pressure of gas m the well that we have. Another point that completely destroys the 'pocket' theory, is the quality of oil that we are obtaining, Were the oil coming from a ' pocket' it would ho what we would call' dead.' But the oil is ' live,' and very ' live' [ know all about these ' pockets' and the sure thing. I have had experience with both all my life, in different parts of the world, and I unhesitatingly say that from the indications that we have —indications that cannot be misread—we have tapped a very large held of oil of n high grade. But is it not a fact that oil has been got at Molnroa at different times before ! J It is this fact, continued the interviewer, that seems to give the sceptical portion of (he community the impression that there is a big possibility that this bore will share the fate of the rest.—"No doubt it is true that oil lias been got before. They got the oil but could not work it. Wc have got the oil and are working it, you see. The great trouble with the past oil concerns at Motjiroa has been the water. As you know, we have absolutely got rid of the water foy all u W e

People said to me that this difficulty ( would cause the failure of the well I. was boring, but I fell ceMiiu that I could overcome it, simply becauso I have had experience in other countries of the same trouble and have successfully met it. Asa matter of fact the water difficulty J have had to contend with at Moturoa is nothing compared with some of the oil wells of Kouiuauia. This bore being so successful you will no doubt put down others?— Yes; but, as I said before, I cannot tell you just yet what the nature of our arrangements for the future will be. But you could put down other oil wells with assurance of equal success ! J Yes; that is so. From the formation of strata we know exactly where to place our bores, and I think I am justified in stating that I ooukl put down right now several other bores at points whereat we could get equally as good a flow of oil as from the present one. Asked if the company would obtain Government help in the matter of levying protective duty on foreign oils, Mr Pair said he could not express an opinion just yet, but if the Government were alive to a sense of its duty, it would do so. He mentioned that when oil was discovered in Canada, the Government at once imposed a duty of 35 per cent, on outside oils. This had the effect of blocking the incoming of all other oils. The local oil was very soon able to build ' up, and could be bought as cheaply, ' and was quite as good as any foreign 1 oil. Mr Pair has, so far, verified every 1 statement he has made in regard to the : oil. He told his company that he ; would get the oil. He has got it. He : told them at what depth he would come ' across it. It has been proved that ho 1 was only a few feot out. Ho claimed ' that he would overcome the water 1 difficulty. He has done so effectually. ■ He claimed that the gas pressure would ' force the oil to the surface in large '■ quantities. This has come about. 1 And, it is reasonable to believe his statement now that the bore has tapped ' a big oil field, that it can be exploited 1 successfully, and will prove particularly i profitable to the people interested 't

DR. BELL INTERVIEWED. In an interview with a " Post" reporter, Dr Bell, Director of the Geological Survey, stated that the general conception of the origin of petroleum was that it was derived by the distillation of organic matter contained in strata which gave forth the petroleum. According to sonic authorities the distillation was the result of slow decomposition, and lo others to the momentary heat produced by volcanic explosion. The great European oilfields were at Baku (on the Caspian Sea), in Prance, Ttaly, and in Roumania. America also possessed very extensive oilfields. Tn Canada a field had recently been discovered in Alberta, on the slopes of the Rockies, which it was believed would eventually become the largest in the world, it was just being opened up. Before he came to New Zealand, Dr Bell was over the field, and he said it extends over a great area of country.

One of the most distinct evidences of petroleum was the existence of little sheets of oil on the surface of pools of water. All along the bti co" the Rockies in Alberta you could see those! especially in the country near Athbasca. Natural gases also escaped from the ground, He mentioned that some foolish persons had lighted tires in different places, with bad results. He remembered seeing one place where a lire had been lighted about four years ago, and the flames still continued, shooting as high as 200 ft in the air. Where petroleum occurred it was invariably found that considerable thicknesses of loose pervious strata (like sandstone) were separated by relatively narrow thicknesses of impervious strata (such as clay, slate, etc.) These strata were folded into anticlines and synclines. From the anticline the petroleum was obtained; and if it was dome-shaped and the boring was right on the apex then a much more regular and richer flow would probably be obtained.

Whether the characteristics of tho strata in New Plymouth were similar to those stated above he was unable to say, but Mr Fair assured him they were.' The importance of the anticlines could not be over-estimated. Practically all over the world the anticlines were the first requisite in a good field.

Reverting to the contention of some authorities that the existence of petroleum was in part due to volcanic action, Dr Bell pointed out that Mount Eg. Mont was not far distant from the present field. He could not, however, give any personal expression of opinion about the field or its prospects.