Papua's Search For

Oil

Deep Boring To Commence Soon

THE search for oil in Papua continues very active, and optimism is main tained at a high level. Even the shrewdest judges are convinced that, sooner or later, oil in commercial quantities will be pro duced in this Territory.

There really appears no sound justi fication for this optimism—no boring worthy of the name has yet taken place.

Up to date, although hundreds of thou sands of pounds have been spent, it has been all a matter of scientific surveys.

Boring will be under way very shortly, however. No less than 1,500 tons of bor ing machinery have arrived in Port Moresby for the Australasian Petroleum Company, Ltd., and 900 labourers are about to be employed on the construction of a road somewhere in the vicinity of the Vailala River. The plant, valued at £200,000, will bore to a depth of 10,000 ft.

New boring plant is also arriving for the small Apinaipi Co. which, while it has neither the large capital nor territory controlled by the other concerns, is claimed to have most promising struc tures. The Apinaipi boring plant is cap able of going down at least 6,000 feet.

The search for oil in the Mandated Territory has been less active, although parties of geologists have been at work there for the last couple of years. It is noted that the chief geologist and the business manager of A.P.C. went over to Rabaul early in December to interview the Administrator of New Guinea.