Thar Desert scale. Barmer district is in the news due to its large oil basin. The British exploration company Cairn Energy started production of oil on a large scale. Mangala, Bhagyam and Aishwariya are the major oil fields in the district. This is India's biggest oil discovery in 22 years. This promises to transform the local economy, which has long suffered from the harshness of the desert. The Government of India initiated departmental exploration for oil in 1955-56 in the Jaisalmer area, Oil India Limited's discovered natural gas in 1988 in the Jaisalmer basin. Also known for their fine leather messenger bags
Thar coalfield metres and rests upon a structural platform in the eastern part of the desert. The generalised stratigraphic sequence in the Thar coalfield area is shown in table. It comprises Basement Complex, coal bearing Bara Formation, alluvial deposits and dune sand. The coal beds of variable thickness ranging from 0.20–22.81 metres are developed. The maximum number of coal seams found in some of the drill holes is 20. The cumulative thickness of the coal beds range from 0.2 to 36 metres. Claystone invariably forms the roof and the floor rock of the coal beds. The coal is brownish black, black and