page_title: Miri, Malaysia
section_title: Recent developments
hierarchical_section_title: Miri, Malaysia / History / Recent developments
caption_attribution_description: English: Miri town, Sarawak, Malaysia, in 1983.
context_page_description: Miri is a coastal city in northeastern Sarawak, Malaysia, located near the border of Brunei, on the island of Borneo. The city covers an area of 997.43 square kilometres, located 798 kilometres northeast of Kuching and 329 kilometres southwest of Kota Kinabalu. Miri is the second largest city in Sarawak, with a population of 234,541 as of 2010. The city is also the capital of Miri District of the Miri Division.
  Before Miri was founded, Marudi was the administrative centre of the northern region of Sarawak. Miri was founded in 1910 when the first oil well was drilled by Royal Dutch Shell. The discovery of an oil field in Miri has led to rapid development of Miri town. Miri became the administrative centre of the northern region of Sarawak by 1929. During World War II, the Miri oil fields were destroyed by the Brooke government to sabotage Japanese operations in Southeast Asia but to no avail; Miri town was the first landing point of Japanese troops in Borneo. The subsequent Japanese occupation led Miri to become a target of Allied air raids which caused the destruction of oil refinery facilities in Miri.
context_section_description: Petronas, a Malaysian national oil and gas company, was formed in 1974. As a result, a concession system was changed into production sharing contract system (PSC) between Shell and Petronas. All the foreign oil companies including Shell required to obtain licenses from Petronas. The first two PSCs were signed on 30 November 1976. Foreign oil companies are required to keep not more than 41% of the oil produced until their original costs are recovered. After a return of their investments, the oil companies will keep 30% of the revenue after all operating costs and oil royalties are deducted. Petronas also formed a company named Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd which was directly involved in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas in the country. Petronas also initiated the Baram Delta Gas Gathering (Bardegg) project which involves the collection and compression of gas from five fields, namely Betty, Bekor, Baram, Baronia, and West Lutong, located 10 km to 45 km offshore from Miri. This is to ensure the minimisation of gas loss during oil production. Petronas and Shell are also involved in educational outreach activities such as awarding scholarships to deserving students. Both companies are also involved in Malaysian first rig-to-reef project, in an effort to preserve bio-marine life in the sea offshore Miri. In this project, an abandoned offshore platform was made to become part of the Siwa reef. Both companies also started to establish Piasau Nature Reserve in 2014.
  Miri Municipal Council has adopted the seahorse as the town's official symbol. It was proposed by the former Sarawak chief minister Abdul Taib Mahmud and introduced as part of the "I love Miri campaign" in 1994. The seahorse is chosen because of its distinctive figure with gentle and graceful motion. These characteristics describe multiple ethnic and cultural identities of Miri which live in peace and harmony with good values of life. It also denotes the location of Miri town near to the sea and coral reefs and the city status as a resort paradise.
  Miri was elevated to city status on 20 May 2005 and became Malaysia's tenth city. Miri is also the first town in Malaysia which is not a state capital to be granted city status. Miri City Day is celebrated each year on 20 May since it was declared by the past Chief Minister, Abdul Taib Mahmud. A time capsule containing news article of the day and a souvenir book was buried at Petroleum Science Museum at Canada Hill, Miri. The time capsule will be opened 100 years later on 20 May 2105. An effort has also been made to develop Miri as liveable resort city.
caption: Miri town in 1983
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