A BIG EXPLOSION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 320, 9 July 1912, Page 4

A BIG EXPLOSION.

ON THE OIL FIELD. DERRICK DESTROYED BY FIRE. About five minutes to seven yesterday morning, the derrick at No. 5 bore of the Petroleum Co.'s works at Moturoa, suddenly burst into flame, preceded by an •explosion which could be heard two miles away. Many windows rattled an* some residents felt a distinct 'quake. The derrick was razed to the ground in a few minutes, but fortunately the fire did not spread to the boiler or boiler-house. Last week No. 5 bore was deepened to a depth of 2455 feet. At this depth. the management met with a strong gar and oil veil, resulting in a blow-out, as (reported in Friday's "News." Th»' bore was got under control on Thursday' evening, and was flowing from that time until the fire took place, the oil fiavingfree vent the whole time into the boiler. The night-watchman on duty has been in the employ of the company for somt years, and is a reliable man. He is a non-smoker, and no matches were us«d' at the scene of the fire on Sunday night. About twenty minutes to seven yesterday morning he noticed a big escapeof gas from the No. 5 bore. This was followed, shortly afterwards, by a loud explosion. After the report th«building was quickly ablaze,- as far as the derrick was concerned. The loud explosion gave the alarm to those of tht staff who were living in the vicinity. Gathering that something was amiss,. they were quickly on the spot to assistin quelling the outbreak. They worked assiduously, and as soon as a jet of steam could be applied to the gas escaping from the bore it was not long before the fire was got under controlMessrs Roy and Carter (two of the local representatives on the directorate) wer« early on the scene and rendered what assistance was possible to the staff. The bore is intact, not being in any way injured, and is still flowing as usual. The boiler and boiler-house practically suffered no damage. Enquiry was made at the tima as to the origin of the fire, and later in the morning another enquiry took place at the company's office, where witnesses were examined. The directors came te the conclusion that the fire had 'been aecidental. The manager (Mr. L. Keith) reported that the derrick a-nd the fixing up of that portion of the plant destroyed could be made good for about £l5O. The boilers were kept fired all day Sunday for the purpose of keeping up steam for running over the oil after it exudes from the well. The exact cause of the fire is not ascertainable. If thera were an escape of gas, it would have been carried over in the direction of the boiler-house, as a strong wind was blowing from the land to the sea,

THE OIL INDUSTRY. ,„£ DIESEL ENGINES AT GISBOBXE. Gisborne, July 5. The lights burning in Gisborne tonight are the product of Gisborne petroleum. At the municipal powerhouse, where the supply of electricity for the town is generated, the Diesel engines today were being run on a supply of petrol* eum sent in some few weeks ago from' the Waitangi bore. At first it was thought this oil was too heavily charged with benzine to be safely used on the Diesel machines, but this theory was exploded by Mr. Hill, the representative of the manufacturers, who came over from Stratford a few days ago to personally investigate the potentialities of the local oil for power production purposes. "It is really good oil," he declared!. "The pity is that we cannot get more of it. The engine running is usingless of this oil than any other, this consumption being only 0.4301b per brake horse-power." Mr. Hill explained that the oil was put through the engine without any readjustment of machinery. The Diesel engine automatically controls its food supply, using more of a poor oil and less of a rich one to produce a given result. In Taranaki he started the Stratford electrical generating plant with crude petroleum from the New Plymouth wells,. and the Taranaki oil is a vaseline, and requires 70 degrees of heat to liquefy it. The Gisborne petroleum is much more volatile, and therefore more economical.

"There is no reason to go outside New Zealand for crude petroleum for power purposes," emphatically declared Mr. Hill. "They have enough in store in Taranaki to keep the country going for at least twelve months, The Uisborne plant has been using oil obtained from Australia, Borneo and Texas. That from Australia costs 7 l-15d per gallon, but Taranaki petroleum can b« procured for 4d per gallon, and tire Gisborne oil, when supplies are obtainable, should be procured at even less than that. The engines get more work out of this oil than out of any other they have U3ed," declared Mr. Hill, in conclusion.