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TAMBANG, September 27, 2010 | 09.41

History Of Oil & Gas Exploration : It Starts From A Cattle

Arif Dwi Cahyono
arif@tambang.co.id

The first oil drilling in Indonesia was executed at a time interval of only 12 years from the maiden drilling in the world. A cattle was originally
used as power.

Oil & gas sparkling originated in the outburst of oil from the stomach of the earth. Indonesia, history records that the first oil exploration
ritual was executed by a cattle. J Reennik, a Ducth engineer, utilized the power of the animal for drilling. He found oil seepage in
Majalengka, a region in the slope of Mount Ciremai, westsouth Cirebon city. The oil permeated from layer of tertiary rocks protruding to
surface.
Based on the finding, he later conducted the first oil drilling in Indonesia in 1871. The drilled wells were four and produced 6,000 liters of
crude oil. The production was the maiden petroleum lifting in the country.
The drilling was done at a time interval of only 12 years from the world's first oil drilling executed by Colonel Edwin L Drake and William
Smith de Titusville (1959), in State Pensilvania, United States. Nonetheless, the mining sector was just developed actively by the Dutch
Colonial Administration in the 19th century. Over two centuries following the establishment of VOC, the mining sector did not yet become a
leading source of income of the Colonial administration. It was visible from Indische Mijnwet, the first mining legislation, which was enacted
by the Dutch Colonial Administration in 1899.
Oil reserves were striken first in Indonesia in the 19th century when Corps of the Mining Engineers, a Dutch institution, reported the finding
of oil in the 1985s in regions, such as Karawang (1850), Semarang (1853), West Kalimantan (1957), Palembang (1858), Rembang and
Bojonegoro (1858), Surabaya and Lamongan (1858). In the followingg decades, oil reserves continued to be found in Demak (1862), Muara
Enim (1864), Purbalingga (1864) and Madura (1866).
Later, Cornelis de Groot, once-time Head of the Department of Mines, reviewed the exploration results and reported promising areas in
1864. Based on the report, milestone of Indonesia's oil history was recorded with the success of J. Reenik to pump out oil from inside
Majalengka land.
The success became the beginning for the development of oil drilling in Indonesia. Next, in the 1882 1898 period, drilling was executed in
other regions, such as Langkat (North Sumatera), Surabaya (East Java), Kutai (East Kalimantan) and Palembang (South Sumatera). The
period is also called as the pioneer era cum the beginning for systematic oil management through a business entity that became embryo of
Dutch oil company.
Aeilko Janszoon Zeilker was the first person securing a concession area of 500 bahu (3.5 km2) in Telaga Said, Langkat, North Sumatra
from the Langkat Sultant in 1883. He found the field upon inspecting and fining puddles containing oil. The field started producing one in
1884 and produced 8,000 liters of oil. After Zeilker leaved the business, Jean Baptist August built oil pipelines and plan to support the
development of oil business in the field.
The development of Oil Plant Pangkalan Brandan was completed in 1892. Six years afterward, 1898, storage tanks and seaport facilities
were built in Pangkalan Susu so that the produced crude oil could be processed first before the shipment. Pangkalan Susu constitutes the
first oil export seaport in Indonesia.
More history was recorded in 1890 when the Dutch Colonial Administraton officially established an oil company in Indonesia, named NV
Koninklijke Nederlandsche Petroleum Maatschappij, or Royal Dutch Petroleum Company. Previously, Adriaan Stoop set up Doordsche
Petroleum Maatschappij in the Netherlands in 1887 to develop oil field in Surabaya, East Java.
Stoop secured a concession area of 152.5 km2. Kruka Field constitutes the older field in East Java. The volume of oil produced from
Djabakota Field was around 8,000 liters. Stoop later built Wonokromo Plant in 1890-1891 to process the produced oil. The plant constitutes
the oldest in Java.
Thenceforwards, concessions came in Java, among others, Gunung Kendeng, Bojonegoro, Rembang and Jepon. The number was around
30 fields. In line with the development of the fields, a plant was built in Cepu, Bojonegoro.
In Kalimantan, oil started to be managed when Kutai Sultant granted a concession to Jacobus Hubertus Menten in 1888. Field
Sanga-Sanga started producing in 1893. Balikpapan Plant was later established in 1894. Commercial production started in 1897. The
maiden shipment of oil was executed in 1898 by tanker Shell, destined to Singapore.
Dominicus Antonius Josephin Kessler and Jan Willem Ijzerman paved the way for oil exploration in South Sumatra by establishing
Nederlandsche Indische Exploratie Maatschappij in 1895 to manage concession areas in Banyuasin and Jambi. In line with the addition of
their concessions, SumateraPalembang Petroleum Maatschappij, still part of Royal Dutch was established in 1897. A mini plant was built
later in Bayung Lencir. To support the management of other findings in Lematang Ilir and Muara Enim, South Sumatera, Muara Enim
Petroleum Maatschappij was set up.
JW Ijzerman also built a relatively large plant in Plaju, in coincidence with teh development of pipeline network linking Muara Enim to Plaju
Plant.
At the time, two major companies, namely Royal Dutch and Shell played role as leader. Royal Dutch operates in the field of exploration,
production and refinery, while Shell, another Dutch giant company, ventures in transportation and marketing. The two companies later
merged in 1907 to become Royal Dutch Shell Group, later known as Shell. The group later establsihed De Bataafsche Petroleum Mij
(BPM) to manage production and refinery and Anglo Saxon Petroleum Coy to handle transportationa and marketing.

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