Papuan Oil Search
p. 63 · Read in the full issue
A.P.C. Drill is Down 4,620 ft.
GOOD progress is being made by Aus tralasian Petroleum Co. Pty., Ltd., in its search for oil at Kariava, on the Vailala River, Papua.
In the July-August period, the drill in No 1 test well reached a depth of 3,399 ft ’in 14-1/Bth in. hole. From August 12 to September 9, a further 1,221 ft. were drilled in 10-5/Bth in. hole, making a total depth of 4,620 ft. Continuous coring was carried out through alternating bands of sandstones and mudstones.
Drilling can go down to 10,000 ft. with the present equipment, and the next few months should reveal whether Australia
will have an independent oil supply from Papua.
During the past 18 months, APC has carved from the jungle at Kariava a model settlement, complete with modern amenities. In addition, it has made miles of passable roads, transported a quarter of a million pounds’ worth of materials and machinery up the Vailala, and erected the huge drilling rig.
Private Fred. Swan, of Apia, Western Samoa, was included in a New Zealand casualty list, recently issued, as “missing after the Battle of Crete”. He is a son of the late Mr. W. J. Swan and a brother of Mesdames Croudace, Gray and Fab ricius, of Apia. He left Samoa early last year to enlist in the NZ Army Medical Corps.