Billionth Barrel Monument

The Billionth Barrel Monument stands on the seafront at Seria, unveiled in 2004 to mark the billionth barrel of oil, produced on 18 July 1991 from the Seria field where oil was struck in 1929, a set of arched concrete forms over a plaza with the sea behind and working nodding donkeys along the coast in both directions. Oil built the modern Bruneian state and this is the place it is commemorated.

History

Oil was found at Seria in 1929, with the S-1 well, near which the monument stands, and Brunei Shell Petroleum produced its billionth barrel of crude on 18 July 1991. The concrete monument it built to mark that barrel was unveiled by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah on 8 May 2004, for the 75th anniversary of Brunei's oil and gas industry, and fully completed in July 2015 (Wikipedia, Billionth Barrel Monument).

What to look for

• The arched monument - the concrete structure on the seafront plaza.
• The 1991 date - the billionth barrel from a field opened in 1929.
• The nodding donkeys - working pumps along the coast in both directions.
• The Seria field - the discovery the modern state was built on.

When to go

Year round. Late afternoon light on the seafront is best. Monsoon swell from around November to February makes the shore rough.

Good to know

It is a monument and a plaza and an hour is generous. Seria itself is a company town with little for visitors. The drive from the capital takes around an hour and a half.

Nearby

The Seria Energy Lab is nearby, and Kuala Belait is west.

Key facts