Seria

Seria or officially known as Seria Town, is a town in Belait District, Brunei. It is located about 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.

Etymology

The town's name was derived from that of the river near where oil was first discovered in 1929. In the past, Seria used to be known as Padang Berawa, the local name which has been translated as 'Wild Pigeon's Field', and referred to the area between the Bera and Seria rivers. However, the original name has become forgotten today. Berawa is also a word of Indonesian origin, meaning low ground and flooded with water, usually with lots of aquatic plants, an apt description of what Seria had been in the past. Thus suggesting as well that the original name may have Indonesian or Javanese influence.

Geography

Seria is located within a mangrove swamp and surrounded by an oil field.
The town has a narrow coast with the South China Sea. It has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area. As well as open sea, it contains tidal mudflats and sandflats, mangroves and beach forest which support populations of various birds, including Bornean crestless firebacks, grey imperial pigeons, short-toed coucals, lesser adjutants, Chinese egrets, Wallace's hawk-eagles, Malay blue-banded kingfishers, and straw-headed bulbuls.

History

The first oil field in Brunei was discovered by the British Malayan Petroleum Company in 1929, with the completion of the first commercial oil well later that year on the west bank of the Seria River. Oil production began in 1931, and the first export followed in 1932. By 1935, royalties from Seria's oil accounted for 47% of the state's revenue. In 1936, Seria was officially designated a town and incorporated into the Kuala Belait and Seria Sanitary Board, which was managed by the Assistant British Resident.
During World War II, Seria was one of the first places in Borneo to be invaded by the Imperial Japanese Army. The Kawaguchi Detachment landed on 16 December 1941, just nine days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. In response, the British forces destroyed the oil field to prevent it from falling into Japanese hands. On 28 April 1945, the United States Navy launched an attack on Japanese-occupied areas in the Asia–Pacific, including Seria. The town was liberated by Australian forces on 29 June 1945, but by the time they arrived, the oil field had been severely damaged and only restored to production in November that year. By 1946, the original town had been completely destroyed. In the post-war period, Seria's high oil productivity and the presence of Indonesian workers employed by the BMPC prompted the British to closely monitor the situation, concerned about potential labour unrest and the spread of revolutionary Indonesian ideals.
By the 1950s, Seria, the hub of Brunei's oil industry, had become a unique environment where the oil company operated almost like a state within a state. The Malays in Seria were slightly better off than those in other parts of Brunei, benefiting from the economic activities of the oil industry. However, despite the financial growth driven by oil, the overall welfare of the local population improved only marginally. British colonial policy kept the indigenous population insulated from the disruptive effects of rapid development, maintaining a conservative status quo with limited social change. In 1951, following a wage increase by the BMPC, a strike by 97 out of 127 watchmen in Seria led to the disbandment of the force, with some workers dismissed while others were reassigned. By 1952, political tensions rose as various groups attempted to form political organisations, spreading their activities across Brunei Town, Seria, and parts of Sarawak. The Brunei government, receiving crucial intelligence from the BMPC, became aware of A. M. Azahari's infiltration into various sectors of society, particularly targeting Seria's oil workers. Azahari held secret meetings in Seria, where he met H. Hidup Besar, a former BMPC employee who became a key political associate, organising the workers for Azahari's cause. In 1953, the Seria Sanitary Board was upgraded to the Municipal Board, marking a shift in local governance.
In the early 1950s, cinema became a popular form of entertainment in Seria, where the BMPC organised free open-air screenings for its employees. This reflected a broader trend in Brunei, where mobile cinema units and public address systems were used to engage communities in towns and villages. G. L. Ness aptly described Brunei as a land of "mosques and movie goers." In August 1954, the Brunei government established a special Security Force of 175 men to safeguard the oilfields in Seria. This force was supplemented by Malayans from the Peninsula, who underwent training under A. N. Outram, the Superintendent of the Police Training School in Kuching, as part of efforts to bolster regional security.
During the Brunei revolt, Seria was one of the key targets of the rebels' coordinated surprise attacks, along with Brunei Town and other coastal settlements. While police detachments in smaller towns surrendered with little resistance, the security forces in Seria, Brunei Town, and Kuala Belait managed to hold their ground. Despite early rebel gains, their ultimate objective of establishing the Unitary State of North Kalimantan was not achieved. On 11 December, British forces from the 1/2nd Battalion Gurkha Rifles and the Queen's Own Highlanders swiftly recaptured Seria and Kuala Belait. Reinforcements from Singapore soon followed, and a bold operation on 12 December successfully freed hostages held at the Panaga police station in Seria. Acting on British advice, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III diplomatically deferred Tunku Abdul Rahman's offer of military aid to the British, eventually agreeing to accept 150 Malayan policemen to address concerns for the safety of Malayan officers in Brunei. He also approved the deployment of two British Gurkha garrisons—one stationed in Seria to safeguard the vital oil installations, and another in Brunei Town.
The Municipal Board was overseen by the Belait District Officer from 31 October 1985, and from 1 November 1985 onwards, it has been administered by the chairman.

Administration

Seria officially constitutes two village subdivisions, in which they are under Mukim Seria:

Village	Population	Postcode	Ketua kampung
Pekan Seria Kawasan 1	1,908	KB1133	Haji Jamail bin Haji Linap
Pekan Seria Kawasan 2	751	KB1233	Haji Jamail bin Haji Linap
Total	2,659	-	-

Seria has also been incorporated as a municipal area since 1959 and is the responsibility of the Kuala Belait and Seria Municipal Board, which also oversees Kuala Belait. The municipal area constitutes and encompasses parts of the aforementioned village subdivisions, bounded by Jalan Tengah and the Seria Arena to the north, Jalan Lorong Satu Barat to the east, Jalan Bolkiah to the south, and Jalan Lorong Tiga Barat to the west.

Economy

Oil and gas

The town sits atop the Seria oil field, which was discovered in 1929 and has been continuously in production since then. Between 1932 and 1959, the Brunei Government earned $340 million in royalties from Seria’s oil production, significantly boosting its financial assets, which rose from $309,724 in 1932 to $144.5 million by 1952.
The Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Limited is headquartered in Panaga and has various facilities related to the oil and gas industry in Seria. The Seria Refinery is the only refinery in Brunei and is located in the Sungai Bera area, together with the Seria Crude Oil Terminal, the New Gas Compression Plant and the New Industrial Area. The open-air oil water treatment facility at the Sungai Bera Holding Basin has since been discontinued due to environmental reasons.

Demography

Religion

Religions practiced in Seria include Islam which is adhered to by the majority of the local population, and Christianity, Sikhism, Hinduism, as well as Buddhism which are practiced overwhelmingly by permanent residents, foreign workers and migrants. There are two mosques in Seria, the main and oldest being . There are also Christian churches, including the St. Margaret's Church and Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception.

Transportation

Road

Most of the roads within the municipality are surfaced. There are buses taking passengers to Bandar Seri Begawan and Miri from Seria. The Kuala Belait Highway from the Malaysian border west of Sungai Tujuh, Kuala Belait links up with multiple other highways leading to Bandar Seri Begawan and Muara Town.

Rail

There are no working railways or light rail in Seria. The route and remnants of a wooden railway from Seria to Badas that was built by the British Malayan Oil Company before the war to service the water supply to Seria from the Badas pumping station on the Sungai Belait are still visible.
BMP staff hid essential components of the railway from the Japanese during World War II who therefore were unable to restore it so it fell into disrepair. When the liberation forces of the Australian 9th Division arrived, these components miraculously re-appeared and the railway was quickly restored to action to carry two 25-pounder guns and ammunition to Badas, to harry a Japanese contingent that was still in the area.

Water

There are no ferry services, river services or port services in Seria. The nearest port is in Kuala Belait, and the nearest deepwater port in Brunei is Muara Port.

Air

There is a privately owned airfield in Anduki that caters mainly for flights to offshore Brunei Shell Facilities. Commercial travellers would have to travel to either Bandar Seri Begawan or Miri to catch a commercial flight. There is one helipad at Panaga Health Centre and at the Brunei Shell Petroleum Headquarters.
A heliport is located inside the British Army Jungle Warfare Training School. The helicopters belong to the No. 1563 Flight RAF, formerly No. 667 Squadron AAC, and No. 7 Flight AAC.