72 NOETLING : PETROLEUM IN BURMA. 



The boring record of well No. 48 is — 



40 feet blue clay from 165 to 205 feet. 

 35 „ water sand „ 205 to 240 „ 



115 „ oil sand „ 240 to 555 „ 



Unless we assume that there must be an argillaceous parting 

 between the water and oil sands the case is remarkable. The instance 

 of No 54 is even more striking ; the boring record states — 



25 feet blue clay . . from 4C0 to 425 feet. 



75 i> g re y water sand . . ,, 425 to 500 feet. 



175 11 dark sand . . „ 50010675 „ 



50 „ oil sand with slight show of oil ,, 67510725 ,, 

 15 „ of blue clay „ 72510740 ,, 



P'ov'ded that this record is correct, we would therefore have a 

 continuous arenaceous series of an aggregate thickness of 300 feet, 

 containing water at the top, being dry in the middle, and petrolifer- 

 ous at the base, inclosed between impermeable beds of clay. 



With regard to No. 61, the case is stranger still ; some 60 feet 

 of white sand, with some water rest on the top of 100 feet of oil 

 sand, without apparently a separating medium ; the oil sand in its 

 turn rests on 5 feet water sand. If this boring record is correct, we 

 would have an arenaceous series of more than 165 feet in thickness, 

 a layer of petroleum in the middle, and a layer of water on the top 

 and at the base which seems to be so contradictory to all laws of 

 specific gravity, that for the present I must record it with some 

 doubts. 



With regard to the distribution of water and petroleum through 

 the series, it is quite certain that they occur quite independent of 

 each other; but that in this case the petroliferous and water bearing 

 beds are always separated from each other by impermeable beds of 

 clay. It would be useless to go into details at length, a glance at 

 the sections or at the boring records will prove this, but still I may 

 be permitted to mention the two deep wells, No. 13 and No. 54, in 

 greater detail. In No. 13 the following sequence of water bearing, 

 ( "8 ) 



