The Story of a Treasure Finder in Riau, America’s Attempts to Taste Oil in Indonesia Often Blocked by the Dutch

Jakarta – Richard Hutchinson The name Hopper is probably common to most Indonesians today. While history records that this geologist from the United States is an important figure in the Riau uncovering a “treasure” worth trillions in the bowels of the earth.Yes, Hopper is none other than the inventor of the Minas Oil Field. This hidden treasure was first discovered in 1930 by Netherlands Pacific Petroleum Matschapij (NPPM), which later became CPPM (Caltex Pacific Petroleum Matschapij), then CPOC (Caltex Pacific Oil Company), Caltex Pacific Indonesia and finally Chevron Pacific. Developed in Indonesia. Before taking over the government under the banner of Pertamina Hulu Rokan.

The story of the discovery of “black gold” began when Standard Oil (Sokal) of California tried its luck for oil in the Dutch East Indies on March 8, 1924. After a 35-day trip from San Francisco, Sokal’s team of geologists landed in Batavia (now Jakarta).

The Dutch East Indies was Sokal’s first destination for oil outside the Western Hemisphere. The team’s main mission is to investigate the Dutch East Indies sedimentary basin and seek exploration rights in a promising oil field.

The social team is led by University of California alumnus Emerson McMillin Butterworth. He was assisted by Richard Nelson, Milo Orr and Earl Wall. Nelson is said to have visited Pekenbaru in June 1924.

As one of the attempts to introduce Sokal to the Dutch East Indies, Butterworth held an audience in late 1924 with the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies, Dirk Falk.

“Each time he saw the potential for oil and applied for exploration rights, Sokal was always rejected by the colonial government. It is clear that the colonial government had given the status of the Dutch East Indies oil reserves to Royal Dutch Shell as much as possible. Tried to keep up,” wrote the 1983 book Pipeline to Progress, which was summarized by history enthusiasts who had graduated from Gadjah Mada University. UGM) Rino Surya Budisaputra, quoted on Saturday (23/7/2022). ,

Sokal never held back. Butterworth also lobbied the US State Department to put pressure on the colonial government. Together with Francis B. Loomis, he decided to move to the Netherlands to facilitate Sokal’s efforts to obtain the rights to the discovery.

In an effort to put diplomatic pressure on the Netherlands, the US State Department made an argument that is hard to refute, namely the fact that Royal Dutch Shell is one of the main oil producers in Uncle Sam.