Expectation Of
p. 18 · Read in the full issue
Oil
In Papua
BY the end of August, some 1,500 feet of the stuck drillpipe had been recovered from the Omati bore, in Western Papua, where the Aus. Petroleum Co. is seeking for oil, and work on further recovery from the 21-miles-deep-hole was proceeding.
All official statements are cauti ous and guarded; but the whole oil seeking organisation is notable for an air of quiet confidence. The finding of an oilfield is considered certain.
Interviewed in Sydney on his arrival on August 24, Mr. R. R.
Dickie, the Co.’s chief engineer, said only; “We wouldn’t be in New Guinea if we were not confident of finding oil there.”
The official APC statement issued on September 9, states that opera tions at Omati have been suspended pending arrival of special fishing equipment to recover lost drill-pipe.
This course is to minimise possibility of total loss of the very deep drill hole without establishing the significance of the gas encountered before drill-pipe stuck.