| Rasau oil field | |
|---|---|
 | |
  | |
| Country | Brunei |
| Region | Belait District |
| Offshore/onshore | Onshore |
| Coordinates | 4°34′N114°11′E / 4.567°N 114.183°E |
| Operators | Brunei Shell Petroleum |
| Field history | |
| Discovery | 1979 |
| Start of production | 1983 |
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]
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.
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]
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.
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]
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.
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.
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]
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.
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.
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 19th 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.
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.
Panaga is a coastal settlement on the north-east coast of the island of Borneo, in the Bruneian district of Belait. Officially known in Malay as Kampung Panaga, it is a village-level subdivision under Seria, a mukim or subdistrict of Belait. The settlement of Panaga comprises a public housing estate under the National Housing Scheme and the housing estate of Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP), the main oil and gas company in the country. Panaga is also home to the headquarters of the company itself. The postcode for Panaga is KB4533.
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.
Kampong Mumong or simply known as Mumong, is a residential suburb of Kuala Belait, the principal town of Belait District, Brunei. 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 subdivisions, namely Mumong 'A' and Mumong 'B', which are under the mukim of Kuala Belait.
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.
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.
Kampong Sungai Duhon is a village that is located within the town of Kuala Belait in Mukim Kuala Belait, Belait District of Brunei. The postcode is KA3131.
Sungai Tujoh, is the westernmost point of Brunei. It is located in the Belait district.
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.
Mukim Kuala Balai is a mukim in Belait District, Brunei. The population was 31 in 2016.
Kuala Belait Highway, is a major highway in Belait District, Brunei. It bypasses the town centers of Seria and Kuala Belait, in addition to the Sungai Belait toll bridge, which is not present along the original route of the Pan Borneo Highway. Along the section of the original route of the Pan Borneo Highway between Kampung Sungai Teraban and Kampung Lumut, motorists may need to cross the Belait River via a river ferry service; therefore, the Belait River bridge at the Kuala Belait Highway enables motorists to cross the river directly without using the river ferry service which may become dangerous during bad weather. The section of the Kuala Belait highway that passes through Seria is generally known as the 'Seria Bypass'. Construction is under way to expand the part of the Kuala Belait Highway from a single carriageway highway to a dual carriageway highway.
Kampong Lumut or commonly known as Lumut, is a coastal settlement in Belait District, Brunei, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the district town Kuala Belait. The total population was 11,273 in 2016.
Seria oil field also known as Seria Field is the largest oil field in northwest Borneo, discovered in 1929. The oil is accumulated in Upper Miocene sandstone, trapped in Seria Anticline that straddles the present day coastline. This field has produced more than 1 billion barrels of oil for more than 75 years. Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) is the operator of this field.
Transport in Brunei consists of air, land, and sea transport. Previously there was some rail transport in Brunei, but eventually most of it was closed down. Several public and commercial sector organizations are in charge of creating and overseeing these networks and infrastructures. The Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications (MTIC) is in charge of overseeing the maritime and aviation industries, as well as planning and regulating all kinds of land transportation.
Rail transport in Brunei did not play an important role during the development of Brunei.
The Belait River is a river in Belait District, Brunei. It is the longest of the four main rivers in the country.
The Kuala Belait Port, also known as Kuala Belait Wharf, is a port operated by both the Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) and Maritime and Port Authority Brunei Darussalam (MPABD). The port can only accommodate low-draught ships. It is one of the only three existing ports in the country.
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