Discovery of oil in South East Asia - History of an oil town.

Earth Oil - the discovery...

The story begins with a Mr. C.C. (Claude Champion) de Crespigny, then the Resident of Baram, who was the first to record the presence of oil in Sarawak. The entry in his diary, dated 31st July 1882, refers to oil discovered in some 18 wells dug by hand by the local inhabitants.
'Earth Oil' was their name for it. Ever since this strange substance appeared in seepages, its possibilities had begun to be realised. They used the oil mixed with resin for chaulking boats. They also tried to use it for lighting, employing an open wick, but it invariably caught fire, usually with disastrous results to their homes. 'Earth Oil' soon earned a reputation of being possessed by a 'hantu' (ghost/spirit) with an inconvenient and insatiable desire to burn down houses.
But now officialdom had recognised its existance. De Crespigny recommended, in his report to the Rajah of Sarawak, Sir Charles Brooke, that an investigation be made. The Rajah presumably never gave this a second thought, since nothing was done. After all, the year was 1882 and the demand for petroleum in Sarawak was nil.
The persistent de Crespigny, however, obviously saw more of a future oil than the Rajah did. In 1884, we find him again suggesting that the whole area be "thoroughly searched and reported on."
The man who was to take him seriously and who was to do just this was de Crespigny's successor, a Dr. Charles Hose, who became the Resident in 1888. Sarawak's oil industry owes much to him.
Charles Hose was born in October 1863. He was at Jesus College, Cambridge, when his uncle, the Bishop of Singapore, obtained for him a cadetship in the Sarawak civil service; his first post was at Claudetown, (now Marudi) a small settlement then some two day's journey up the Baram River. His predecessor's notes prompted him to explore and map the seepages in the Baram District. His journeys were numerous during which, part from building up an invaluable collection of data on Sarawak's natural history, he discovered a number of oil shows. These he reported to the Government, who duly secured the services of an English geologist. The latter registered a very adverse opinion of the oil prospects, no doubt assessing any value that the oil had, against the engineering and transportation problems which, at that time, must have appeared insurmountable.
Hose was certain however that, with proper management and skill, the oil could be worked commercially. Whatever time allowed, he visited the area and made a map of the district, carefully marking in all seepages. He encouraged the local inhabitants to help him search offering small rewards for any seepages they discovered.
In 1907, Hose returned to England on pension. The Rajah was living in Cirencester at the time and Hose wrote to him asking permission to show his map of the oil seepages and samples of the oil to "an oil company." After some correspondence, the Rajah invited him to discuss the matter with him. Hose's task was no easy one. Sir Charles was then approaching 80 years of age, and was strongly opposed to anything "new-fangled". He even refused to have electric light installed in his Istana. But he gave way.
Hose travelled immediately to London. The "Oil Company" he had in mind happened to be Anglo-Saxon Petroleum, one of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies. He sa Mr. H.N. Benjamin. Benjamin and his collegues showed interest in Hose's map and in the samples which they analysed. Following negotiations, the Rajah was informed and agreed to come to London to sign the concession and lease.
Hose was invited to return to Sarawak with Dr. Erb, the petroleum company' petroleum expert. They returned by way of the Trans-Siberian railway. On arriving at Kuching, they called on the Rajah, then back in residence, before proceeding to Miri. Dr. Erb seems to have been impressed but cautious regarding prospects of oil. He carried out a general geological survey of a large part of the northern Sarawak and reported back in person to the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company confirming the existence at Miri of a dome-shaped, unsymmetrical anticline with a steep eastern flank and numerous oil shows.