PETROLEUM NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 2 September 1907, Page 2

PETROLEUM NEWS.

TARANAKI COMPANY'S WEEKLY REPORT.

Tlie weekly report of the Taranaki ! Petroleum Company, Ltd., is as fol- 1 lows:— No. 1 Well. —The work of cleaning out this well is still going on. The pnmp and tubing have been taken out and the sand-pump put down, but the silt has risen up to 2180 ft, fims showing from 125 ft to BOft £o Tie pumped out before the oil seams are again clear. This amount of silt would, of course, prevent any considerable flow of oil, hut, as Mr. George Adams pointed out, when once the silt is removed the flow should be as great, if not greater, than ever. No. 2.—The work of replacing the 6-fnch casing and shutting off the water is still progressing, the depth cleaned out being 20G0ft, and the casing within 7ft of that. The boring of the eavingsin and testing for hard rock is beiag very carefully proceeded with, and jvill probably take a little time yet. No. 3. —The water is now reported to be shut off, and it is to be hoped that it will continue to remain tight, as, if so, it should not take long to reach the oil strata, which, however, seems soinei what deeper here than at No. 1. The

total depth is now 2289 ft, and the water is shut off at 2234 ft. No. 4.—The casing is being put down again, but the work is somewhat retarded pending tlfe arrival of some extra tools now ordered.

No. 5. —Very little work has been done here, owing to the work at No. 1 taking all the spare hands, but it is hoped before long to recommence with vigor/

On Monday last the Chairman of th Taranaki Petroleum Company (Mr. I Berry), with Mr. P. P. Corkill, Chair man of the Oil and Freehold Companj proceed to Wellington to interne* the Minister for Customs re the pro posed duty on oil-boring casing, etc with the satisfactory result that casinj and wire rope are now entirely fret and tools are subject to 6 per cent while it is still hoped that engines ani boilers for the same purpose, which ar now fixed at 20 per cent., will be ad mitted at 5 per cent., being as those used for other mining pui poses. The thanks of the various com panies engaged in dl-boring are duo h Messrs. Flatman and Okey, as well a the' other Taranaki members, both fo the assistance rendered the deputatio; and for good work already done b; them. Mr. Berry was approached whil in Wellington re the supply of crud oil (once-run oil would be good enough to be used in combination with otlie ingredients, in lieu of pitch, for tin making of briquettes of the 3mall coa from the State mines, and which i claimed to be a much cheaper process He was given to understand that i small test plant was to be at one erected in Wellington so as to shov what could be done in quality am price, and then his company would b asked to quote for the crude oil. A paragraph published by us recently and reprinted by the Wellington liven ing Post, stated that the fact of certaii Wellington speculators having visitci their oil bore at midnight on a veceu Sunday had caused amusement in »e\ Plymouth. Mr. W. McLean, secretar; of the Bonithon Petroleum Company informs the Post that he was one of til three mysterious visitors referred tc and that the afi'air admits of a ver; simple explanation. They arrived n Sew Plymouth by train on Saturda; night, and were engaged in business til l late hour. Being anxious to study th' working of the plant, they drove *< Bonitlion on Sunday in a close landai (the day being wet), and waited for th starting of the engines at midnight, s> is to see the complete operations of th light shift. This done, they returne* io New Plymouth and took the carl; ;rain babek to town. Mr. McLean say ihe visit was brief because they ha little time to spare, and he surmise ,hat the real grievance of the New Ply nouth people is that the visitors sue leedcd in escaping the vigilance of the lsually wide-awake pressman. (We can inly say in reply to Mr. McLean that lis surmise at the New Plymouth wople's alleged grievance is not the lorreet one, nor did lie escape tlie ■igilanee of the usually wide-awake iressman, who was, as a matter of fact, n the spot at midnight, unknown, however, to Mr, McLean and his nocturnal -ssociates.)