Pangkalan Brandan (or Pangkalanbrandan) (Pangkalanberandan) is a port town in Langkat Regency, North Sumatra province, Indonesia, forty miles north west of Medan, close to the boundary with Aceh. The area's population is estimated at around 21,000.
Oil seepages were known in the archipelago since antiquity, the small ponds containing a mineral wax used for lighting torches and caulking boats. In 1880, East Sumatra Tobacco Company's Aeilko Jans Zijlker discovered these deposits contained up to 62 percent kerosene. Acquiring a concession from the Sultan of Langkat, near the Balaban River called Telaga Said, Zijlker's Provisional Sumatra Petroleum Company drilled the first successful oil well in 1885, called Telega Tunggal No 1. Seeking capital in 1890, Zijlker issued stock in "Royal Dutch Company for the Working of Petroleum Wells in the Dutch Indies", after William III of the Netherlands granted him the license to use the royal title. After Zijlker's sudden death in 1890, Jean Baptiste August Kessler took over management of operations in 1891. A refinery on the Balaban River, connected by a 6 mile pipeline to the wells, was operational in 1892. [1] [2]
Pangkalan Brandan was noted to be the first area of Indonesia which supported the development of other areas with its rich oil supply, its well can be traced as the origin of the global oil giant Royal Dutch Shell. There has been a proposal to use waste from the local palm oil industry to generate electricity. [3]
Palembang is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers 400.61 square kilometres on both banks of the Musi River on the eastern lowland of southern Sumatra. It had a population of 1,668,848 at the 2020 Census. Palembang is the second most populous city in Sumatra, after Medan, and the ninth most populous city in Indonesia.
Riau is a province of Indonesia. It is located in the central eastern coast of Sumatra along the Strait of Malacca. Until 2004 the province included the offshore Riau Islands, a large group of small islands located east of Sumatra Island and south of Singapore, before these islands were split off as a province in July 2004. The provincial capital and the largest city of Riau is Pekanbaru. The province shares land borders with North Sumatra to the northwest, West Sumatra to the west, and Jambi to the south. The total area for Riau province is 87,023.66 square kilometres (33,600.02 sq mi), which stretches from the slopes of the Bukit Barisan to the Strait of Malacca. Riau has a wet tropical climate with average rainfall ranging between 2000 and 3000 millimeters per year, and the average rainfall per year is about 160 days. Riau is currently one of the richest provinces in Indonesia and is rich in natural resources, particularly petroleum, natural gas, rubber, palm oil and fibre plantations. Extensive logging and plantation development in has led to a massive decline in forest cover Riau, and associated fires have contributed to haze across the larger region.
Medan is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of North Sumatra. A regional hub and financial centre of Sumatra, it is one of the four main central cities of Indonesia, alongside Jakarta, Surabaya, and Makassar. As of the 2020 Census, Medan has a population of 2,435,252 within its city limits, and over 3.4 million in its built-up urban area, making it the fourth largest urban area in Indonesia. The Medan metropolitan area—which includes neighbouring Binjai, Deli Serdang Regency, and a part of Karo Regency—is the largest metropolitan area outside of Java, with 4,744,323 residents counted in the 2020 Census. Medan is a multicultural metropolis and a busy trading city bordered by the Strait of Malacca. A gateway to the western part of Indonesia, Medan is supported by the Port of Belawan and Kualanamu International Airport, both of which are connected to the city centre via toll roads and railways.
North Sumatra is a province of Indonesia located on the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan. North Sumatra is the fourth most-populous province after West Java, East Java and Central Java. The province covers an area of 72,981 km2. According to the 2020 population census, the province had a population of 14,799,361.
Shell Oil Company is the United States-based wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, a transnational corporation "oil major" of Anglo-Dutch origins, which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 80,000 Shell employees are based in the U.S. Its U.S. headquarters are in Houston, Texas. Shell Oil Company, including its consolidated companies and its share in equity companies, is one of America's largest oil and natural gas producers, natural gas marketers, gasoline marketers and petrochemical manufacturers.
Pekanbaru is the capital of Indonesian province of Riau, and a major economic center on the eastern part of Sumatra Island. Its name is derived from the Malay words for 'new market' . It has an area of 632.26 km2 (244.12 sq mi), with a population of 897,767 at the 2010 Census, and 983,356 at the 2020 Census. It is located on the banks of the Siak River, which flows into the Strait of Malacca, Pekanbaru has direct access to the busy strait and has long been known as a trading port.
Bahorok or Bohorok is a district of Langkat Regency. Its capital is Bohorok town, and Bukit Lawang is a major local tourist attraction for viewing orangutans.
Kampar is a regency (kabupaten) of Riau, Indonesia. It has an area of 11,289.28 km2 and had a population of 686,204 at the 2010 Census, 793,005 at the 2015 Intermediate Census and 841,332 at the 2020 Census. The administrative centre of the regency is located at Bangkinang town.
The Battle of Palembang was a battle of the Pacific theatre of World War II. It occurred near Palembang, on Sumatra, on 13–15 February 1942. The Royal Dutch Shell oil refineries at nearby Pladju were the major objectives for the Empire of Japan in the Pacific War, because of an oil embargo imposed on Japan by the United States, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom after the Japanese invaded China and committed massive atrocities such as the rape of Nanking. With the area's abundant fuel supply and airfield, Palembang offered significant potential as a military base to both the Allies and the Japanese.
Bataafse Petroleum Maatschappij or Bataafsche Petroleum Maatschappij, Dutch for Batavian Oil Company, was the Dutch East Indies and later Indonesian subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell oil company established in 1907.
Bioasphalt is an asphalt alternative made from non-petroleum based renewable resources.
Royal Dutch Shell plc, commonly known as Shell, is a multinational oil and gas company headquartered at The Shell Centre in London, United Kingdom. Shell is a public limited company primarly listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). It is one of the oil and gas "supermajors". By revenue and profits Shell is one of the largest companies in the world, ranking within the top 10 of the Fortune global 500 since 2000.
The Sultanate of Langkat was a Malay Muslim state located in modern Langkat Regency, North Sumatra. It predates Islam in the region, but no historical records before the 17th century survive. It prospered with the opening of rubber plantations and the discovery of oil in Pangkalan Brandan.
Jean Baptiste August Kessler was a Dutch entrepreneur and oil explorer who was largely responsible for the growth and development of the Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., now known as Royal Dutch Shell.
(see also Wampú River )
Telega Tunggal No 1 was the first successful oil well in Indonesia, drilled in 1885 in Sumatra. The area where the drilling occurred was known as the Telega Said concession area.
Operation Robson was the first of a series of aerial operations, Operation Outflank, undertaken by the British Pacific Fleet (BPF) against the oil refineries of Japanese-occupied Sumatra during World War II. Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas, proposed a strike on the refineries to Admiral Bruce Fraser, commander of the BPF, during a meeting in early December.
N.V. Deli Spoorweg Maatschappij, was a private railway company that operated near the east coast of Sumatra around Deli. The Deli Company established itself as a tobacco plantation and then expanded into tea, rubber and timber products. The company was founded in 1883. Routes were built in cape gauge. It was the last remaining private Dutch railway when it was taken over by the state network Indonesian Railway Company in 1957.
Palembang is the capital city of South Sumatra province of Indonesia. Currently, this city the oldest existing city in Indonesia, dates back to 7th century. Palembang was once the capital city of Srivijaya, a Malay kingdom which ruled parts of the western archipelago and controlled maritime trade routes especially in the Strait of Malacca. Palembang incorporated into Dutch East Indies in 1825 after the abolishment of Palembang Sultanate. Palembang is chartered as a city on 1 April 1906. Palembang today is the second largest city in Sumatra and the ninth largest city in Indonesia. The city has become host of several international events, including 2011 Southeast Asian Games and 2018 Asian Games.
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