Jammu, March 23 Jammu and Kashmir can give the Gulf nations a run for their money if the potential for extraction of oil and natural gas in the state is tapped, said a global geology professor here.Jonathan Craig, geology head of oil firm Eni Milan, Italy, said here that Jammu and Kashmir may well turn into a well of 'white gold if proper research is done in quest of extracting oil and natural gas potential of the state'.'The rocks here are similar in character to those of the hydrocarbon-yielding infra-Cambrian sequence in oil-rich Oman, North Africa and natural gas-rich Pakistan,' he said during a workshop organised by the Geology Department of Jammu University and the J&K Council for Science and Technology Thursday.Infra-Cambrian rocks were until recently considered devoid of petroleum but after the giant oil and gas fields of the world were discovered from these rocks in Siberia, Africa and other continents, the opinion has changed.A two-day international conference on 'Geology and hydrocarbons potential of Neoproterozoic-Cambrian basins in northwest India, Pakistan and Oman' would be held in Jammu University Feb 20-21, next year, he added.Craig is also chairman of the Maghreb Petroleum Research Group at the University College London.Eni Milan, one of the six largest international oil companies, is currently operational in Rajasthan, India, and Sind, Pakistan.
(c) Indo-Asian News Service
