PETROLEUM.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 177, 13 December 1912, Page 7

PETROLEUM.

INGLEWOOD COMi'AXY. The annual general iiicol'iig of the Inglcwood Oil-J>oving and Prospecting Company was called for last night. Mr. T. Furlong explained to the shareholders present that as the necessary amount of capital requisite \o constitute a meeting -was not represented, a second meeting would he necessary, and would he held on Thursday next.

Speaking informally, the chairman said [ that in summarising the position at last meeting he had referred to a mutual agreement existing between Mr. A. T. Bate, of Wellington, who represents a number of British and Continental financial men in the Dominion, and the company re terms which were to be submitted to. his London principals. "At that time," continued Mr. Furlong, "our prospects looked fairly bright, and the directors fully anticipated that during the ensuing year business would have resulted. Subsequent events have proved, however, that projects of this kind are associated with delays and disappointments, and extracts from correspondence which has been received from London by Mr. Bate and sent on to us indicate that there are many causes, which it is unnecessary for mc to refer to now, which have had the effect of prolonging finality to the sale of our proposition." )

After the announcement of the subscription to the Taranaki Company, the chairman wrote to Mr. Bate personally asking him in view of the limited amount subscribed to the parent company at Home, whether it would be wise to modify the company's terms to meet the wishes of the English syndicate ivitk whom Mr. Bate was in treaty. Mr. Bate replied that he would not recommend —at any rate, for the present—any reduction in the terms which, in his opinion, were quite moderate, and he did not think any exception would be taken to them. "I might say," the chairman went on, "that all our papers which contain maps and geological data concerning our proposition had, according to correspondents, been before all the principal oil men in London, but the conditions at Home, which had been bad for some time, did not improve, and Mr. Bate in one of his later letters expressed the opinion that the labor unrest would have to be settled before we could expect any investment of capital. He said: 'But it was generally expected that an oil boom would be bound to occur sooner or later, and then our chance, will come, and you may rest assured that I shall do my utmost on behalf of the company.' The labor troubles were improving, but then war broke out, and on December 4 Mr. Bate wrote: 'I am quite sure that no business is possible under present conditions.' I . might mention that Mr. A. J. Henderson, late general manager of the New "-Zealand Oilfields, Ltd., and who has recently returned from England, made enquiries a few weeks ago about our proposition on behalf of an English syndicate. "Turning for a moment to the financial position of the company, we started the year with a credit balarice of £9 10s lid, and our liabilities now amount to £75 17s sd, including a bank .overdraft of £2l. The company has been run on economical lines. I might mention that Mr. Foote has offered his services from now' on gratuitously. "With regard to our leases and options, we hold 1200 acres at Inglewood, subject to certain conditions, and at MoKau we have options over 12,500 acres for 21 years and on this we have to commence boring prior to November next or pay a rent of Is per acre per annum. With regard to Mr. Nichols' block of 5000 acres which he placed at the disposal of the company some eighteen months ago, this offer just recently expired, but I have within the last few days received a renewal of the offer, though over a slightly reduced area, and subject to boring being commenced within a reasonable time."

Since the last annual meeting Mr. T. K. Skinner had granted the company rights over six acres of his property at Moturoa, adjoining the property of the Taranaki Oil Wells, Ltd. for six months, and in the event of a company being formed the lease was to be extended for a term of twenty-one years. Mr. Skinner renewed the offer to the end of this jnonth, and the chairman hoped he would see his way clear to grant a further extension.

11l conclusion, the chairman slated that he would like to draw the attention of shareholders to what in his opinion was the crux of the position as far as the interests of the company were concerned, and that was the extensive operations now being undertaken by the parent company at Moturoa. Expert oil drillers, equipped with a complete plant of the latest oil-boring machinery, were now commencing operations, and in the event of these operations meeting with the success anticipated —and there seemed every possibility of this being so —the result would he most favorable to the prospects of the Inglewood Company, which has valuable boring fights very probably contiguous to what is now being tested at Moturoa. The company was in a favorable position for awaiting the development of events, the expenses being comparatively trifling. An interesting discussion followed ihe chairman's remarks. Mr. M. Andrews thought that the terms of the offer of the English syndicate should be modified to meet the wishes of the syndicate. This led to some discussion, and the consensus of opinion was that the directors had adopted the right course. Messrs. J. Bythe, Cottran, Manuix, and T. Avery took part in the discussion, and all supported the action of the directors, and made complimentary reference to the way in which matters had been handled. The meeting was then adjourned till Thursday night, at which business will be transacted.