MIRI::where it ALL began

I had been here many times, at least more than 5 times, but it was my first time, i.e. on December 11, 2010, I brought Nana, M Aiman, Afiqah and my niece Nurin to this one of the Miri’s tourist spots called Petroleum Museum Sarawak. Located on the top of the Canadian Hill, next to one of the Miri heritages – the Grand Old Lady (will share the photos in my next release), 10 minutes drive from Miri town (depending on the traffic volume though), Petroleum Museum Sarawak provides stories of how the oil and gas industries started in Malaysia or to be specific, in Miri Sarawak. Very informative and the lay-out, I must say, awesome!. It caters for all levels visitors domestically and internationally. I was not born in Miri (Nana did) though, but I am very proud of being part of it – Miri. Hence, in this release/series, I will share you the pictures of the exhibits, its facilities and all related stories entitled – MIRI::WHERE IT ALL BEGAN, which I’ve gathered from the museum. However, it is always better to experience it by yourself. Like the saying goes; one could gain priceless experience by visiting the place, not through reading map.
Miri occupies a very special place in the history of Malaysia – it was here on top of Canada Hill that the first oil well was drilled by Shell in 1910. This laid the foundation for our national petroleum industry, which would help to fuel the nation’s socio-economic development and propel Miri and its people from a sleeping village into the city of today.
The first oil well in Malaysia was drilled by Cable Tool Method. Spudded on August 10 1910 and was completed on December 22 1910. The original depth was 452 feet but the last Production depth was 1096 feet. After 62 years in operation, it was finally abandoned on October 31 1972. The estimated Total Production was 660,000 Barrels and the last Production Rate was 7 Barrels Per Day.

Here is the story goes: In 1882, the then Resident of Baram, Mr Claude Champion de Crisping, first recorded the presence of oil in Sarawak. He wrote in his diary about oil found in some 18 wells dug by hand by the locals in Miri. He suggested to the then Rajah Sarawak, Sir Charles Brooke, that an investigation be made, but nothing was done, probably because during that time the demand for oil in Sarawak was nil. Two years later, he again recommended “the oil district near the mouth of the Miri River be thoroughly searched and reported on”. In 1888, His successor, Dr Charles Hose, studied the oil seepages and compiled a map of the area showing no less than 28 oil seepages.

An anthropologist, geographer and an avid collector of Natural Specimens, Hose had managed to explore and map oil seepages occurring in the Baram area. He also built up an invaluable collection on Sarawak’s natural history. It was through all these frequent trips that he also discovered that unpolished rice was the cure to beriberi. However it was only on his return to England on retirement in 1904, that he managed and samples with the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum. (A Shell Company based in London) Chief Geologist, Dr Josef Theoder Erb was sent by the company, after it had obtained the concession and lease from the Rajah, along with Dr Hose as its guest to investigate Dr Hose’s finds.

Erb carried out a thorough survey of the whole of the north of Sarawak, and located a site on top of Canada Hill to drill the first well. A wooden derrick was erected on the site along with the necessary drilling outfit.
On Wednesday, August 10 1910, drilling began. Four months later, on Thursday December 22, oil was struck when the well reached a depth of 137 meters. This was later called Miri Well No. 1 and it was the beginning of the Miri Land Field. Well No.1’s wooden derrick later became known as ‘The Grand Old Lady of Miri’.Drilling by the old cable tool method was slow and hazardous. The oil was pumped by means of a beam with a large revolving bull wheel driven by steam engine. Initial production was 82 barrels per day (insignificant by today’s standards). This increased considerably as the well was deepened further.

The historical discovery of Miri Well No. 1 turned Miri from a fishing village into bustling town almost overnight spawning an influx of oilmen. Shell established its headquarters and set up a small clinic and sundry. By 1913, Sarawak Crude began to be exported globally.

The Hazardous Method of transporting crude oil to tankers was becoming impracticable due to the rise of oil production in Miri. By this time, the 8 wells in the Miri Land Field were already producing 194,000 barrels per year and this more doubled to 488,000 barrels in 1914. Even more oil discoveries increased output and prompted the need for a better alternative to transport crude oil urgently.
Therefore, the answer came in the form of 6 inches submarine pipeline laid from Tanjung Lobang, to the south of Miri town, and extended four kilometers out to the sea. A flexible rubber hose, sealed at one end, was joined to this sea line, and it’s position indicated by two marker buoys. When laid in 1914, this sealine was considered as an engineering achievement considering the limited local at that time.
Shell also built the first refinery in Malaysia, at Brighton Beach in 1914. Unfortunately due to severe corrosion problems to the sea line, a new site to relocate a new and improved sealine was identified 11 kilometers from Miri. The new site, Lutong was where new sealine was built and completed in 1917; making it the longest sea line then, in the world.

In 1921, Sarawak Oilfields Limited (SOL) was formed to take over the concession rights from Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company Limited. Miri by now had about 40 shop houses, an English-medium school and a Chinese medium school. The increase in Shell’s activities also saw the construction of the Miri-Lutong road in 1924.
About 8 years later, in 1929, production from Miri Land Field reached a peak with a daily average of 15,000 barrels. However this rate declined after World War II, with no new fields discovered elsewhere in Sarawak. SOL included Brunei in its exploration activities.Soon after the news of Pearl Harbour, Shell set about shutting down the Miri Field. During the world was, the Shell headquarters in Miri was bombed and the Lutong refinery was severely damaged, losing countless rock and paleontological records since 1910.

After 6 years of the bloody Second World War, in August 1946, the head office was relocated to Lutong and the first post-war well was drilled in Miri.