Сериа: Нефтяной город Брунея и важная орнитологическая зона

Town in Brunei

the mukim

Seria (; Jawi: ڤكن سريا ; ) is a town in Belait District, Brunei, 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. The town's bazaar, officially opened on 19 September 1954, has few retail establishments, fresh food markets, supermarkets, banking services, tourist information centers, and a range of restaurants, including Malay, Chinese, Indian, Indonesian and Italian ones as well as outdoor dining in somewhat rustic settings. For processing documentation related to owning a car and hiring domestic helpers (amahs), government offices are located in Kuala Belait.

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 (usually in coastal areas) 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.

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 (IBA). 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.

The first oil field was discovered by the British Malayan Petroleum Company (BMPC) in 1929, followed by the completion of the first commercial oil well later that same year in Wild Pigeon's Field on the west bank of the Seria River. while the first export began in 1932. The Japanese Kawaguchi Detachment came ashore on 16 December 1941, nine days after the Attack on Pearl Harbor. Upon the invasion, the oil field was destroyed by the British forces to prevent being captured by the Japanese. On 28 April 1945, Seria was attacked by the United States Navy which targeted places in the Asia Pacific occupied by the Japanese forces. The town was liberated by the Australian forces on 29 June 1945; by the time they arrived in Seria, the oil field was heavily burned and only in November in that year that the production was restored. By 1946, the original town had been completely destroyed. The bodies of the crew were buried in Kuala Belait Cemetery. but was soon liberated by the 1/2nd Battalion Gurkha Rifles Regiment and Queen's Own Highlanders on 11 December 1962. A total of 99 Gurkha Infantry and 3 Commando Brigades were deployed by the British Far East Command.

The town sits atop the Seria oil field, which was discovered in 1929 and has been continuously in production since then. The Seria Refinery is the only refinery in Brunei and is located in the Sungai Bera area, the New Gas Compression Plant (NGCP) and the New Industrial Area (NIA). The open air oil water treatment facility at the Sungai Bera Holding Basin (SBHB) has since been discontinued due to environmental reasons.

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 Masjid Pekan Seria. There are also Christian churches, including the St. Margaret's Church and Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception.

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.

There are no working railways or light rail in Seria. The route and remnants of a 8 mile (13 km) wooden railway from Seria to Badas that was built by the British Malayan Oil Company (now Brunei Shell Petroleum) 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.

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. 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.

In 1938, the first Seria Mosque was completed. In 1953, the Masjid Pekan Seria was rebuilt at a cost of B$250,000, becoming the first mosque in Brunei with a dome. The An Naem Islamic cemetery was opened in Anduki, in 1993. Electricity used to be locally generated with a natural gas fired power plant. This has since been demolished and replaced by the Tenaga Suria Brunei (TSB) solar farm, with a generation capacity of The B$20 million solar farm began operation in 2010. The Seria Post Office served as the town's primary post office. The RBPF CID training center was built in Seria in 1951. The town is also home to the Consulate of the Netherlands and Sri Lanka.

The Pasarneka Seria, also known as Seria Wet Market, is the town's marketplace. Seria Plaza is a shopping plaza in the commercial centre of the town. The retailer's fifth location nationwide is the recently inaugurated Milimewah Department Store. It was reopened in 2019, after plans made to tear down and rebuild the historic shop houses, which were destroyed by fire in September 2015.

Public recreational activities in Seria are mostly limited to the country clubs (Panaga Club and the Brunei Shell Recreation Club). There is an 18 hole golf course in Panaga Club and an Equestrian area in the Brunei Shell Recreation Club. Fishing and windsurfing is carried out at the Anduki Jubilee Recreational Park It was opened by His Majesty, the Sultan and Yang Di Pertuan of Negara Brunei Darussalam, in 1992, a contribution from Brunei Shell Petroleum to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of the Sultan to the throne of Brunei. The Arena Sports Complex consisted of a track and a football pitch. It is often used by the Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (FABD) for national football competitions.