Rasau

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Rasau
Rasau 9 July 2022 03.jpg
Brunei location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Rasau
Country Brunei
Region Belait
LocationRasau
Offshore/onshoreOnshore
Coordinates 4°34′N114°11′E / 4.567°N 114.183°E / 4.567; 114.183
Operators Brunei Shell Petroleum
Owner
Field history
Discovery1979
Start of production1983

Rasau is an area in Brunei. The area contains one of the two oil fields of Brunei, the Rasau Field, [1] and a small village, Kampong Rasau, which has a population of 103. [2]

Contents

Location

Rasau is located in the Belait district on the west bank of the Belait River [1] south of Kampong Sungai Teraban, close to the district capital of Kuala Belait. It is one of the villages in Mukim Kuala Belait. [3] It is located at 114°11′E longitude and 4°34′N latitude. To the north lies Kampong Sungai Teraban. The Malaysian state of Sarawak lies to the west and south with the Asam Paya oil field to the southwest. [4] [5] Across the Belait River to the east lies the southern portion of Kuala Belait and Kampong Sungai Duhon.

History

Rasau was historically one of the first stops on the Belait River upriver from Kuala Belait towards the former district administrative capital of Kuala Balai. It was founded further inland from the mouth of the Belait River and Kuala Belait for protection against pirates. A timber jetty used to exist in the area in 1930. [6] Moreover latter that year, British Malayan Petroleum Company constructed a telephone line along the Kuala Belait Beach which linked up Seria and Rasau with their main headquarters in Kuala Belait. [7]

Commercial hydrocarbons were first discovered in Rasau in 1979, and production began in 1983. [8] A blowout of one of the wells in the Rasau Field, Rasau-17 occurred in April 1989. [9] [10] The resulting fire lasted from 25 April to 8 May when it was finally extinguished. [11] [12] [13]

Rasau gained prominence in the latter half of the 20th century when a bridge was built across the Belait River providing a route to Miri in Sarawak, Malaysia without the need for any ferry crossings across the Belait River. However, the bridge was not opened until after a family of Malaysians drowned at the ferry point during heavy rain. [14]

Population

Kampong Rasau

The small village of Kampong Rasau is located to the south of the Rasau Bridge. It has a population of 103, [2] and is situated further upriver from Kuala Belait towards Kuala Balai. This was formerly a village of hunter-gatherers and fishermen.

The modern day Kampong Rasau serves as a suburb of the nearby Kuala Belait. Villagers residing in Kampong Rasau can obtain a special permit to waive toll payment across the Rasau Bridge. This allows the villagers to conveniently travel across the Belait River for employment opportunities.

A shipyard, [15] on the opposite bank from the Port of Kuala Belait at Kampong Sungai Duhon in Rasau, is a major source of employment for the people from the village and the greater Kuala Belait area.

Economy

Oil and gas

Rasau is dominated by the Rasau Field which is one of the two onshore oil fields in Brunei. [16] The field is operated by Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) [17] and was discovered in 1979, [18] [19] although production from the field did not start until 1983. Most of the wells are located between the highway linking the Rasau Bridge to Sungai Tujoh in the Rasau area. However, some of the Rasau wells are on the east side of the Belait River in Kampong Sungai Duhon and Kampong Pandan.

The Rasau Production Station is located in the Rasau area. Pipelines connect it to the tank farms in Seria via Mumong, [20] and to the Refinery of Seria, via Kuala Belait. [21] Hydrocarbons from Malaysia's Asam Paya field in Sarawak, across the border from Rasau is piped into Rasau. [22] The well Rasau 5 had a depth of 9,000 ft. [23]

Transportation

Jalan Rasau in 2022 Rasau 9 July 2022 01.jpg
Jalan Rasau in 2022

Road

The main highway from Bandar Seri Begawan to the Malaysian border passes through Rasau. [24] The road, Jalan Rasau, is a single carriageway and it is surfaced. [25] It connects the Seria Bypass and the Rasau Bridge to the 11 km road between Kampong Sungai Teraban and Sungai Tujoh. The Rasau Bridge across the Belait River is a toll bridge. The tolls ranges from B$3 for a passenger car [26] to over $20 for a commercial long vehicle. An unsurfaced road connects the village of Kampong Rasau to the Rasau bridge.

Water

A "water taxi" can be hired at the public wharf close to the Kuala Belait market to go upriver towards Kampong Rasau and Kuala Balai.

Air

Commercial travellers would have to travel to either Bandar Seri Begawan's Brunei International Airport or Miri's Airport to catch a commercial flight. The Anduki Airfield in Belait District is the nearest private heliport owned by BSP. [27]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belait District</span> District of Brunei

Belait District, or simply Belait, is the largest as well as the westernmost district in Brunei. It has an area of 2,727 square kilometres (1,053 sq mi) and the population of 69,062 as of 2016. The administrative town is Kuala Belait, located at the mouth of the Belait River. The district is commonly associated with the oil and gas industry of the country, mainly concentrated near the town of Seria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuala Belait</span> Town in Brunei

Kuala Belait is the administrative town of Belait District, Brunei. The population of the town proper was 4,259 in 2016. Kuala Belait is officially a municipal area, as well as a village under the mukim of the same name. The town is located 85 kilometres (53 mi) west of the country's capital Bandar Seri Begawan, and 20 kilometres (12 mi) west of Seria, the district's other town. It is also in the westernmost part of country, near the mouth of the Belait River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seria</span> Town in Brunei

Seria is a town in Belait District, Brunei, about 65 kilometres (40 mi) west from the country's capital Bandar Seri Begawan. The total population was 3,625 in 2016. It was where oil was first struck in Brunei in 1929 and has since become a centre for the country's oil and gas industry. The town's bazaar, officially opened on 19 September 1954, has few retail establishments, fresh food markets, supermarkets, banking services, tourist information centers, and a range of restaurants, including Malay, Chinese, Indian, Indonesian and Italian ones as well as outdoor dining in somewhat rustic settings. For processing documentation related to owning a car and hiring domestic helpers (amahs), government offices are located in Kuala Belait.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muara, Brunei</span> Town in Brunei

Muara Town or simply Muara is a port town in Brunei-Muara District, Brunei, about 28 kilometres (17 mi) from the capital Bandar Seri Begawan. The population of the town proper was 2,102 in 2016. It is home to Muara Port, the country's primary deep water port.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panaga</span> Village in Brunei

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mukim Seria</span> Mukim of Brunei

Mukim Seria is a mukim in Belait District, Brunei. It has an area of 169 square kilometres (65 sq mi); the population was 21,214 in 2016. The mukim encompasses Seria, one of the only two towns in the district. It is home to the oil and gas industry of the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mumong</span> Settlement in Brunei

Kampong Mumong, or simply known as Mumong, is a residential suburb of Kuala Belait, the principal town of Belait District, in Brunei Darussalam. It comprises the original Mumong settlement, as well as the Mumong public housing estate of the Landless Indigenous Citizens' Housing Scheme. However, it officially consists of two village sub-divisions, namely Mumong 'A' and Mumong 'B', which are under the mukim of Kuala Belait.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kampong Sungai Teraban</span> Village in Brunei

Kampong Sungai Teraban is a village in Belait District, Brunei, near the district's principal town Kuala Belait. It has an area of 22 square kilometres (8.5 sq mi); the population was 1,082 in 2016. It is one of the administrative villages within Mukim Kuala Belait.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mukim Kuala Belait</span> Mukim of Brunei

Mukim Kuala Belait is a mukim in Belait District, Brunei. The population was 31,308 in 2016. The mukim encompasses Kuala Belait, the administrative town of the district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kampong Sungai Duhon</span> Village in Brunei

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mukim Labi</span> Mukim of Brunei

Mukim Labi is a mukim in the interior of Belait District, Brunei. It has an area of 361.8 square kilometres (139.7 sq mi); the population was 1,216 in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mukim Kuala Balai</span> Mukim of Brunei

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transport in Brunei</span>

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