POVERTY BAY OILFIELDS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3109, 4 January 1911, Page 2

POVERTY BAY OILFIELDS.

OPERATIONS AT THE WAITANGI BORt.

SATISFACTORY PROGRESS' AND ' EXCELLENT indications.

Work having boon suspended lor the holidays at the AYaitangi oil bore, near Whatatutu, Mr. AV. D. Lysnar, chairman of directors of the Gisborne OH Co., took the opportunity of visiting the scene, in order to ascertain the actual indications with everything in its noi - - mnl condition. Air. Lysnar was accompanied by the manager for the Company,—Air. Young. “We first inspected between the Binch and the 6-inch casing,” Mr. Lysnar told a “Times’’ reporter on his return to town, as it was in the 8-inch casing that we struck the first flow of oil at the 655 feet depth. It was supposed that in carrying the 8-inch piping down to 712 feet, that flow oi oil had been, shut off, .but it is now quite apparent that such is not the case, as a considerable amount of gas and pure oil is coming up between the two pipes. It has overflowed the pipe and run over the floor of the pit, which is 4 feet below the derrick. Wo then examined the present o-inch casing, which is down to 1447 feet, and prior to stopping the work for the holidays, the manager had taken the precaution of putting an extra 30 feet of piping above the ground, and of filling it with water, in order to keep the well below, steady. At the top of this pine there were indications of gas coming uu through the pipe, the contents of winch had changed from being pure water to a sort of liquid mud thickly impregnated! with oil. If you put your car to the pipe you could hear the gas bubbling up all the time; it gave one an indication of what was down below.” Continuing. Mr. Lysnar said that in putting tins' string of pipes down, after striking first at 655 feet, the next oil struck was at 1010 feet —where a small pocket was met with, and a still larger quantity was met with at 1330 feet. This was supposed to have been shut oft and the pipe l continued pist it, but it is apparently still leaking through the bottom, and coming up. This is, however, explained Air. Lysnar, entirely distinct from the oi] coming up between the 6-incli and 8-inch casings.

The present string of piping is passing through a brown, clay shale, which is considered, by experts, to be very favorable oil formation - . The pipe lias alradv gone through ISO feet of this formation. During all the boring operations. from the time of passing the first stratum, gas lias been met with at frequent intervals, but distinct traces of oil have been found only at the depths indicated. According to Air Lysnar, the manager expresses himself as being satisfied of two things: —(1) That there is a much larger body of oil at 655 feet, than was originally supposed, and (2) that the main reservoir of oil lies below the present boring. “Speaking personally,” concluded Air. Lysnar, “the indications as 1 saw them arc very encouraging indeed, and more especially so as they show that there are two distinct depths which show quantities of oil and gas. It was of course my first visit to the bore since returning from England, and I am more than pleased with the prospects, and also with the manner in which the work has been carried out. Progress has perhaps seemed slow, but it was necosarily so, on account of the different formation which was encountered.”

Questioned as to the possibility of striking payable oil shortly. Air. Lysnar said he did not care to hazard an opinion. which could onlv at the best, bo guesswork, but stated that it was proposed to go straight on with the new string of 4-inch casing which recently arrived in Gisborne.