Pangkalan Brandan (or Pangkalanbrandan) (''Pangkalanberandan'') is a port town in

Langkat Regency Langkat Regency ( id, Kabupaten Langkat) is the northernmost regency of North Sumatra. Its seat is Stabat. Its area is 6,263.29 km2 and its population was 967,535 at the 2010 Census and 1,030,202 at the 2020 Census.Badan Pusat Statistik, Ja ...

North Sumatra North Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Utara) is a province of Indonesia located on the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan. North Sumatra is Indonesia's fourth most populous province after West Java, East Java and ...

province, Indonesia, forty miles north west of Medan, close to the boundary with

Aceh Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a s ...

. The area's population is estimated at around 21,000. Oil seepages were known in the archipelago since antiquity, the small ponds containing a mineral wax used for lighting

torches A torch is a stick with combustible material at one end, which is ignited and used as a light source. Torches have been used throughout history, and are still used in processions, symbolic and religious events, and in juggling entertainment. In ...

and caulking boats. In 1880, East Sumatra Tobacco Company's Aeilko Jans Zijlker discovered these deposits contained up to 62 percent kerosene. Acquiring a concession from the

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

of Langkat, near the Balaban River called Telaga Said, Zijlker's Provisional Sumatra Petroleum Company drilled the first successful oil well in 1885, called

Telega Tunggal No 1 Telega Tunggal No 1 was the first successful oil well in Indonesia, drilled in 1885 in Sumatra. The area where the drilling occurred was known as the Telega Said concession area. The drilling in Sumatra had begun earlier and ''Telega Tiga'' is us ...

. Seeking capital in 1890, Zijlker issued stock in "

Royal Dutch Company Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...

for the Working of Petroleum Wells in the Dutch Indies", after William III of the Netherlands granted him the license to use the royal title. After Zijlker's sudden death in 1890,

Jean Baptiste August Kessler Jean Baptiste August Kessler (15 December 1853 – 14 December 1900) was a Dutch entrepreneur and oil explorer who was largely responsible for the growth and development of the Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., now part of present-day Shell. Early life ...

took over management of operations in 1891. A refinery on the Balaban River, connected by a 6 mile pipeline to the wells, was operational in 1892. Pangkalan Brandan was noted to be the first area of Indonesia which supported the development of other areas with its rich oil supply, its well can be traced as the origin of the global oil giant Royal Dutch Shell. There has been a proposal to use waste from the local

palm oil industry Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...

to generate electricity.

References

Shell plc Populated places in North Sumatra {{Indonesia-stub