Taranaki Oil

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 160, 6 January 1914, Page 5

Taranaki Oil

ARRIVAL OF AN EXPERT. AN AMERICAN'S | SOME PERTINENT CRltlol^^^j| "A nicu little country," safrM^yau'!|| Epps to a Daily News night, when discussing New' "I like to see such a -green', country, and such green oil,'' <S§ Mr Van Epp s is an Ameriato 'off e* J pert of high standing, and fee has been engaged to make a report on thq option* Wi of the International Petroleum and "'3 Minerals Development' Corporation! !(if which extend over about 10/100 acre*' t Jj iii the Inglewoodand Stratford district* -$« and in the vicinity of the CarrlngtoßT and I'rankiey Roads. This it a which will occupy some three We eld Jfr ' Van Epps in accompanied by Mr Ejk •-? worth, the secretary to the IttttSl* "• tional Corporation. "BACK INLAND." , "Further back inland," «aid Mr -Van s<| Epps, when asked whether be thought ' j,i there was au oilfield in Xaranaki, and *' where it was. > Mr Van Epps the oilwells of;' * tlic Tavanaki (N.Z.) Oil Wells Company, Ltd., and of the Bonithon Coibpany, yes- s % terday. While, as he remarked, it wu , ; i perhaps rather premature to venture % i" definite opinion, he was not slow to * J 1 state that from his Feunsylvanian e*- : s4 perience he was of opinion that the oil"- ! ij at Moturoa merely represented seepage, ' and that it' would be further back that ■ the main flow would bo found. ' 1 At the same time, he remarked that' • : . the quality of the oil already obtained • at Moturoa was higher than that of the i ~ Pennsylvania oilfields. This was '•' because of the large percentage of paraffin wax which it contained, but on ' this account, too, it was Harder to refine. SOMEWHAT TREMATUftB. A ' With regard to the rcfincrv. Mr Van ' ■ Fpps was of opinion that its erection • had lteen somewhat premature, it wai ' putting the cart before the horse, he re- - marked, to build a reflnery before ,the oil was obtained in large quantities. In - Pennsylvania, they took no notice of : small seepage wells, looking on them ! merely as feelers, and in this respect he ■' thought the Tarannki methods of oil- -r projecting were nt fault. Too man® wells appeared to have been aunk in a , j comparatively limited area. For in- .'t | stance, at Bell Block there were two * " j wells, fairly close together, and both ' - | driven unproduetively to a considerable . J depth. One of these wcllg inight Imvo | been used to better advantage in open* ing up the field farther ihland. The > sources of the evident oil eupply had not ■ yet been tapped.

MISTAKES' SECRECY. ' ; One thing had struck Mr Van Epps " during (he short time he had been on ' * New Zealand oilfield*, and thai va? the curious veil of secrecy which v wa« apt to hang, over the doings of sime of tho oil companies. In his opinion, the directors of these concerns should court publicity more tlmn they did, and, further, should ,givc each other all the information possible about the depths of their bores-and the. progress of their re»pec- - 1 tive enterprises. In his country there was an association among the oil men, and this information was gathered periodically from the various enterprise* .for the benefit of all, -The oil men iwlised that this was good for themselves and for each other. "We used to bo secretive one time," said Mr Van Epn. but we know better now."