TARANAKI PETROLEUM.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 September 1920, Page 5

TARANAKI PETROLEUM.

; GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION'V; SOUGHT, ' . ■ ' A HOPEFUL POSmpM, i For Bome time the Mayor of Not 1 tyjj mouth (Mr. Jas. Clarke) and othefl HP tcrested in the oU have i &t pressing »on the Goyeriuneirt til*' iffi visability of taking* tip the fffll a exploiting the Taranaki oil field* % it had been left off by pritate M vfc prise. The Mayor has bad sevto*| w terviews witli the Prime Minister M the acting-Minister for Mine* (Sir : A Eraser), and- this week-end hfe, ; In the member for the district (Mr. I % Smith) and Mr. Keith (maimer Taranaki Petroleum Company) special interviews with both who have promised that Cabinet give the matter their closest attetra£|9 Wlien Mr. Qreenway, representln&piSj Anglo-Persian Oil Company bought the local refinery), was in JfiMil Zealand, he opened up negotiation* jraKfl the Government for proving , itnlf'jajll veloping the Taranaki oil fU](L H 4 |m§H mitted several proposals. place he offered to find th 4! suhlmH £IO,OOO to have a complete geoljjlinSj| survey made of the district, the Government would subscribe a lur amount, and to send out &!££« petent and experienced staff to MffiH out the work. If the isurwy 'aramH satisfactory, his company whuld provide £1250,000 to develop the Government would find 1 fffilwM amount, Later, his company wouVDnSiM prepared to hand the whole to the Government, on confflifon*, »t3M course, that were fair and to the company. ' s*3 It is an open secret that Mr. Qjremia way - did not receive a veijr reception, particularly at the then Secretary for Miaei, wh(h JafS deed, told him that tha people. lifNnjMffl Zealand would (not agree to" capitalists controlling an the oil industry, and that if Alone}' Sg required for the purpose the Q<ft£ra|9 mcnt could find it all itself. . . \Ljjß It was a great opportunity to te»t.B(l<a field under the best possible No one can say that the oil fafariffiSSsj Taranaki has ever had a It has, speaking in general fnrmi'mSiHM| Expert direction, technical and necessary financial aasistui&iWm of which are necessary to enaure iun| Those who have been carrying ,~»h9 done their best under abilities. Indeed, it is little | wonderful that they have been spite their comparatively crvde mramU and lack of capital, to win ovet;jn|H million gallons of crude oil. Itrajl dustry, however, is one that handling by large interests with t lmH ly trained staff, and modern tooV-tfflH The Government has been the Imperial authorities to help farflH great work of searching the Empirt ; 9H oil, so as to render it, independenl/ < j|9 far as possible, of outside no doubb the new interest } njM lately been displayed by the CabinefcTSW the Taranaki oil field, and thif workjoWH thereon, has not a little to do-wlthitiM direction from Home. The PrimeMtoaM ter is isaid to be very favorably dfcpOMgl towards working with the Anglo-PeiwMn Company, jw the Australian GovefnlßOTiß is now doing, and as the Imperial {jUfiH ersment hits done; in Persia and orSwß parts for some years, and therein! ground for hope that, after all, naki oilfields, will at last have MM done to tliem. It may he added ihs9 Mr. MaSsoy was away, from New at the time of Mr. Grecnway's viaiti jiffl For some time past, it is known, ejpß side concerns have been endeavoring* feljl purchase the interests of the TaranqjnM Petroleum Company, now in liquiditidl^l THE NEW ZEALAND FIELD. OPERATIONS REVIEWED. Says the Mines report:— Kjm Oil-boring operations have contisumß at New Plymouth, Waipatiki, -..MffH Chertsey, but in several instances gress has been retarded through th*-44|9 lay in receiving new cables ordered mishaps to the existing easing. Noi~w|M velopment of commercial value as the result of oil-prqspectlng Opfesi|9 tions, and none of the existing fwMfl yielded oil in payable quantity.\ Taranaki (New Zealand) OH-wittM (Limited).—ln the early paTt of they®*f|l the company dismantled its reflnwfajl plant which had been acquired' for KHw erection in Persia. Operations at bore were confined to drilling some cement which had been placed UImI side the Sin. casing to shut off the wMnfl and to relining the borehole with <wM9 ! casing. Difficulties were still taingjiggiH perienced with the escaping sand ana nil cutting through the inner casing m| operations ceased, through lack of Early this year advice was received London that the company had gone ijtjjW Blenheim- Oil-wells (Limited). —Mfi£jj||B time was lost during the year in awaMHEH the arrival of drilling cable from SH 1 land. In the interval the company JOggS its staff of expert Galician drillers. iiad carried the borehole down euowHl fully from the commencement. I weli has now attained a depth of tyOftEH feet, and is penetrating a. dark caJe*S|M ous mudstone from which there JjnH strong gas-emissions. A small floft (raH petroleum occurs at 2,200 feet, arid Wpß ing the year 7,485 gallons of oil C British Petroleum Development pany.—This new company was late in the year to sink a boreholftJgjM Patch's farm, which is about seven BftwlM from New Plymouth, along the OanMlM ton Road, It is anticipated that'MM will be struck at about 2.500 feet, .|«gM operations so far have consisted in erection of a derrick and necessary macliinery. / f i|J| Waipatiki Oil-wells '(Limited).— company, which acquired the Interest! MaW Hawke's Bay of the Kotnku Oil'WMfM Syndicate, has continued boring Optagjifl tions during the year, but work has delayed, first through the casing ing, end afterwards by the late arrlya£nH a new drilling-cable, lliere have Btrong emissions of gas and a rtMwfl quantity of oil from this borehole, so far the formations penetrated' not been such as would contain -wEH tensive oil-pool. The boreho'le down 3,000 feet. ■' Canterbury Petroleum Company.—This company's boreaokpHH still penetrating the alluvial gravel and conglomerate wMcfc roWHI Canterbury Plains, and has now atwjfjHfl a depth of 2,140 feet, ' J -