Belait District

Belait District is the geographic and economic heart of Brunei's petroleum wealth—the district where Shell discovered oil in 1929 and where extraction continues to generate the 90% of government revenue that funds the sultanate's welfare state. The town of Seria hosts the iconic 'Billionth Barrel Monument' commemorating cumulative production, while Kuala Belait serves as the administrative center for an oil industry that produces 180,000 barrels per day, making Brunei Southeast Asia's third-largest producer. Shell Brunei Petroleum remains the dominant operator, though Hibiscus Petroleum acquired TotalEnergies' offshore stake in late 2024. The district's infrastructure—housing compounds, hospitals, recreation facilities—was built for petroleum workers and their families, creating company-town characteristics unusual outside extractive contexts. Brunei's 4.2% GDP growth in 2024 reflected strong oil and gas performance, though per capita income of $33,470 masks the fiscal challenge: tax revenue cannot cover expenses without hydrocarbon receipts. By 2026, Belait's importance grows with the first offshore licensing round in a decade (Blocks A and D), attempting to arrest production decline through new exploration.