PART 3.] 
Theobald: Petroleum m Burmah. 
i .1 
lu the province of Pegu no liumnmlitic rocks occur at the surface east of the Irawadi, which 
entire region is occupied by a newer group of miocene age or younger, and no petroleum well is 
authentically known within this area. A little below Namian there is a tradition of petroleum 
having once been known to occur, but 1 visited the spot and could detect nothing to coun¬ 
tenance the rumour in the appearance of the sandstone or any of the neighbouring rocks. The 
occurrence of oil, therefore, east of the Irawadi in Pegu must be held to bo an opeu question. 
West of the river, the only situation where petroleum is known to occur which 1 have 
as yet had an opportunity of visiting, is the newly discovered locality at Padoukbeeu west of 
Thaietmio. The well was here sunk to a depth of about twenty feet in soft argillaceous sandstone, 
rather tender and incoherent and of a dark bluish color, drying paler. The beds in the 
neighbourhood are shales and sandstones of the miocene series, dipping at low angles ami 
very little disturbed, and not in the slightest degree altered. The oil seems to have been 
discovered by its saturating the soft sandstone where cut by a small stream in the bed of 
which the well is sunk, the top being a little way up the hank, but the well being carried 
below the level of the bed of the stream. Whether the well continues to yield, I cannot say. 
At my second visit it was abandoned and dry, but I hear it has again been worked. The oil 
from this spot is precisely similar in every respect to the commercial or Seu&n-kbyoung 
oil, and is regarded as equal to it in value by the natives. 
There is no indication at this spot of any fault, and the chances of improving the supply 
by a deep boring are hardly greater than of failure, as there is so little to guide the judgment 
as to the source of the oil, ami as these beds are, I believe, high in the series to which they 
belong, a very thick set of unproductive beds would have to be passed through, unless the 
bore struck a seam containing sufficient oil to constitute a flowing well, the presence of which 
is by no means assured by the insignificant surface indications. 
Note on the Petroleum Locality of Sudkal, near Futtijung, west of Eawul 
Pindi, Punjab, by A. B. Wynne, P. G. S., Geological Survey of India. 
The petroleum at this place occurs (as usual in the Punjab, vide Geological Reports, 
Asiatic Society, &c.,) in the nummulitic tertiary rocks, .fust near the petroleum pits, as well 
as to the north and south, fossils occur, orbitolites being by far the most numerous, hut, bivalve 
shells in a fragmentary state, teeth of sharks, and large bones are also to be found. 
The pits, only one of which is of any depth, are situated in a small open space a couple 
of hundred yards wide from north to south, covered with superficial debris, and bounded in 
these directions by rocky ridges of slight elevation. To the east and west are the sources 
of some of the numerous steep ravines which intersect the country everywhere. 
The tertiary rocks on both of these ridges are much contorted along narrow axes, hut 
still possess considerable regularity of strike in a direction about 10° north of east and 
south of west. They dip at high angles, varying from vertical to 50° or 60° generally west 
of north and east of south, but lower angles aud horizontal beds may also be observed 
forming parts of curves iu the same neighbourhood. 
The rocks consist mainly of gray grits and sandstones, with some bands of gray fossil - 
iferous limestone mterstratified with thick zones of red shale. 
In the immediate vicinity of the pits the strike of the rocks changes to about north-east; 
they dip at very high angles to the north-west and seem to run against a mass of red shales 
within a few yards of the principal sinking, being perhaps faulted, but the relations are almost 
entirely concealed by the covering of superficial debris. 
To the southward of the present works within a few feet dark brown shales and 
sandstones impregnated with petroleum are exposed by an open ‘ drift’ or ‘ stope’ (cut ap¬ 
parently to seed, the. most productive band), and these as well as a band of limestone 
in places saturated with the oil may be traced for a few yards north-eastwards, where a 
quantity of the oil seems to have exuded from the rocks and mingled with the surface soil. 
Owing to the abandoned state of the works at present and the insecure gear at the 
pit s month, it was not found practicable to descend, but as t he pit is only twenty or thirty feet 
in depth, the oil could be seen trickling from the highly inclined strata forming the sides' and 
which dip at the upper part of the pit north-west at 70°. A ‘dhol,’ lowered quietly 
and drawn up as rapidly as possible to avoid loss by reason of its leaky condition, contained 
