Founding of Royal Dutch Petroleum to develop the Pangkalan Brandan oilfield

Background. The Royal Dutch Petroleum Company was a Dutch company founded in 1890 to develop an oilfield in Pangkalan Brandan, North Sumatra. It was initially led by August Kessler, Hugo Loudon, and Henri Deterding. The company was formed in April 1907 through the merger of Royal Dutch Petroleum Company of the Netherlands and the "Shell" Transport and Trading Company of the United Kingdom.

Operations. In 1890, Zijlker issued stock in "Royal Dutch Company for the Working of Petroleum Wells in the Dutch Indies" after receiving a license to use the royal title from William III. After Zijlker's death in 1890, Jean Baptiste August Kessler took over management in 1891. A refinery on the Balaban River, connected by a 6-mile pipeline to the wells, was operational in 1892.

Legacy. Pangkalan Brandan was noted as 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. The merger in 1907 gave 60 percent stock ownership to Royal Dutch and 40 percent to Shell.