QUEST FOR OIL.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 October 1915, Page 6

QUEST FOR OIL.

NEW WELL TO BE SUNK.. MR. P. A. HADLEY'B OPERATIONS. COOD GAS INDICATIONS.

Active steps in preparation of sinking a well in quest for petroleum are in progress on property on the Frankley Road, about six miles from New Plymouth, and the sehemc is being carried out by Mr. P. A. Hadley, on behalf of a strong syndicate. It is about four months since Mr. Hadley set his scheme in motion, and a visit paid to the scene of operations by a Daily News' representative yesterday showed that considerable progress has been made. The scene of the new works is known as Groob>"'s farm, and is a short distance i'fom the bore which Mr. Hadley put down iii this neighbourhood some years ago. The latter bore is not being worked at present, but Mr. Hadley proposes to renew drilling there at the same time at which a start will be made with the new bore. This locality has provided raany indications of petroleum, and the ground is particularly rich in gas, which has been declared to be petroleum gas, whiie it is also interesting to note that a straight line through the Frankley Eoad site would pass over the old fiields at Moturoa. Tlie gas potentialities of tiie locality are strikingly illustrated by the fact that Mr. Gi'ooby, who lives near by, lias harnessed the gas and is using it in his house for lighting and cooking purposes. To obtain tlie gas Mr. Grooby has simply sunk a 'hole in the ground, which, covered in. by boards, provides a rougn reservoir, from which an excellent supply continually issues. Near by, there i? another opening in the ground —juit an ordinary opening from which a spring issues; but the spring is placed in a perpetual state of activity by the gas and a match thrown into the cavity •has the effect of filling the hole with a ■blaze of flames, which burn furiously without any lessening of supply. These examples of the gas-bearing nature of the land are remarkable, and though gas is no new feature of certain parts of Taranaki it is stated that nowhere eke 'has it been found in such purity of quality and such quantity.

It is these indications which have prompted Mr. Kadley to drill for oil here, and, although he has been at work for nearly four months the extend of his scheme will require another three months! before drilling can be commenced. The foundations for the derrick have been erected, and the structare will be 132 feet in height, thus being (Mr. I-fadley states), tnc largest derrick south of the line. Nearby, the flTst steps have been taken towards erecting a boiler house, 50 feet by -26 feet, and an engineering shop, 40ft by 20ft, where all the engineering work of the field will be carried out. Good progress has also been made with the engine house and the pump house, while offices and two store houses 'have been erected. A very commodious building of eleven rooms ii being erected for the accommodation of the staff, and the house has been named Tehran IPah ("oil meeting-house"). The whole of the works will be lit by electricity, and the plant will be electrically driven, the power to be generated on the ground. Altogether the works cover an area of about four acres. A permanent staff of fourteen men will be employed, and when this bore and its neighbour are at work twenty-eight hands will be employed.