PETROLEUM.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 208, 22 January 1913, Page 5

PETROLEUM.

TARANAKI (NEW ZEALAND) OIL WELLS, LIMITED. Grea-t activity continues to be manifested at the Taranaki (New Zealand) Oil Wells, Limited'* property at Moturoa. Last week 29 loads of refinery pjant were taken delivery of, and the eight-ton boilers came through by rail from Wellington. In all, 70 men and boys are employed on the refinery works. Bore No. 5 is (lowing splendidly, after having been cleared out, while 'electric light has been installed at the new rotary boring plant, where dav and night shifts are being worked. Although the formation ig hard and conglomerate, good progress is being made. Shareholders are making frequent visits to the works and express surprise at the progress made .

At Bell Block, No. 1 bore is down to 070 feet and the formation that is being passed through is favourable to drilling! No. 2 bore is down to 550 feet in good formation. The flow of water at No. 1 bore between the casing is estimated at about 100,000 gallons every 24 hours. There is every prospect' that further good progress will shortly be made at the New Zealand Oilfields, Ltd.'s property at Waihirere (says the Gisborne Times). Some months ago the company went to the expense of installing th*e most rip-to-date system of rotary°drilling, in supercession to the percussion system, which had been found inadequate to cope with the peculiar formation of the ground. The tests and work put in so far, it is understood, were eminently satisfactory, but, unfortunately, owing to the hard quality of one of the formations, certain spare parte of the plant were found to be necessary. These not being immediately available, operations were necessarily hung up. It is now interesting to note that the additional parts arrived bv the Mokoia from San Francisco. When the drill has been refitted operations will be hastened forward. The depth reached before the new drill was used was 500 feet, and it is reported that over 1300 feet has now been reached. This must be regarded as excellent progress. ;\nd a satisfactory feature is that present indications point to signs of oil.