246 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1940 



INDIA AND BUEMA 



Oil production from India is confined to the Potwar Basin area 

 near Rawalpindi, where there are two small producing fields — Khaur 

 and Dhulian — both operated by the Attock Oil Co., and in Upper 

 Assam, where the Assam Oil Co., a subsidiary of the Burmah Oil 

 Co., has a small field at Digboi. In both these areas exploration 

 work has been active for many years, and many other exploration 

 wells have been drilled, but hitherto without further success. 



During the past 2 years investigations into oil possibilities have 

 been carried over larger areas, both in northeastern and northwestern 

 India, but no deep drilling has as yet been undertaken. Both Brit- 

 ish and American companies have acquired exploration licenses. The 

 areas with theoretical, though very speculative, possibilities lie 

 partly in the vast alluvial plains and partly in the foothills. In the 

 former, exploration has involved extensive geophysical work on the 

 part of the operating companies, and in this connection the geodetic 

 work of the survey of India has been of great assistance. Geologic 

 surveys, assisted by aerial mapping, are being carried out in the foot- 

 hill regions in areas where sufficient outcrops exist to make surface 

 geology possible. 



The oil production of Burma is drawn from three principal fields 

 and, in spite of a considerable program of exploration drilling car- 

 ried on for many years, no recent addition of importance to known 

 reserves has been made. Exploration work, however, is being ac- 

 tively pursued in spite of all discouragements. The possibility of 

 employing geophysical methods in alluvium-covered areas now makes 

 oil exploration practicable in areas which some years ago would have 

 been completely disregarded. 



DUTCH EAST INDIES, BORNEO, AND SARAWAK 



Oil production from these islands amounted to 8,194,000 tons in 

 1938, which was drawn from a large number of individual fields. 

 Most of the existing fields are already in an advanced state of decline, 

 but new discoveries offsetting this are being made from year to year 

 and exploration work is being actively pursued. 



DUTCH NEW GUINEA, PAPUA, AND MANDATED NEW GUINEA 



An extensive concession in Dutch New Guinea is being explored 

 by a company in which American, British, and Dutch interests are 

 represented. A wide aerial survey was carried out at an early stage, 

 and the surface geologic mapping has been greatly assisted by photo- 

 geOlogic interpretation from the aerial photographs. Oeolbgic and 



