These two pictures show views of a petroleum establishment in Rantau Panjang, a small harbour located near the mouth of the Serdang River north-east of Medan. Oil seeps had been found in this area of the North Sumatra basin from very early times. In 1884, A. J. Zijlker, the Dutch manager of East Sumatra Tobacco Company secured a concession to the oil-bearing-land from the Sultan of Langkat. He received approval from the Dutch government to start drilling. In 1885, he found success and as a result, there grew an increased interest in the region’s oil producing capacity. During the 1900s, several new fields were explored and drilled on Sumatra’s East Coast.
