75-Year-Old Donkey Nods To Keep Seria’s Oil Flowing

Kuala Belait – Not many people in the country are familiar with the nodding donkey even though it is a common sight for people in the Belait District especially for those who live in Seria.

Residents in Belait District must be proud of it because it is only in the district where the nodding donkey exists.

The mechanism has been there since Brunei explored its first commercially drilled oil and gas in 1929.

To date, the Brunei Shell Petroleum Company has drilled a total of 825 wells. Forty-two per cent of these wells are still in production.

However, some locals may not know the real function of these strange-looking structures that can be seen fixed on the ground.

For some, it may look as if it is sucking out something from the ground.

Awang Haji Kamaluddin, Darat Asset Manager, said the alternative nodding donkey technique is being used at old wells where it can help in pumping out oil from the low pressure wells.

The first nodding donkey in the country has been serving Brunei for 75 years. Perhaps, the facility is no longer in operation.

It will only move to carry out its normal function when the oil and gas is in low pressure to be pumped out.

This nodding donkey technique is one of the methods used aside from gas lift and natural flow.

So far, such method is still operational on 183-wells and the rest by two other methods. -- Courtesy of Radio Television Brunei

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