The oil fields of Klamono
My father worked in Sorong for two years, so I was familiar with the name. According to his own stories, he also visited smaller villages in the Papua jungle. As a hobby, he carried a small metal box with scalpels and some basic medicine, like aspirin, to help treat sick Papua. He never mentioned any specific names, but in October 2024, I pressed him to recall one. "Klamono," he suddenly said. I looked it up on Google Maps and discovered it was indeed a tiny village located roughly 50 kilometers from Sorong. I saved the name and planned to visit Klamono during my time in Sorong, though I had no idea what to expect.
There are no buses to Klamono. We hired a car and driver for the day for 600.000 IDR. When we arrived in Klamono, it looked like a dusty town in the Wild West. I decided to walk around a bit and soon I heard religious music in the distance. The sound was coming from giant loudspeakers attached to an equally giant church. In the greater district of Klamono there are apparently 3,000 people living, in the village the number is less than a 1,000. Not sure how accurate these numbers are, but the church seemed big for the community.
Some men standing near the church were a bit puzzled by my appearance. But they were extremely friendly, although they hardly spoke English. Posing in front of my iPhone broke the ice. Nenik could explain my presence in Bahasa Indonesia. When I asked my father which language the Papua were speaking in the 1960s, he said: kust-Maleis, which is also known as pasar-Maleis or Bahasa Dagang, dagang meaning “trade”. It was the language spoken in coastal areas and trading cities. The Papua also speak a local language called Kais.
We wandered around a bit and a man simply started walking with us, and when we returned to the car he just got in the passenger seat and we had ourselves a local guide.
The Catholic mission was as integral to Nieuw-Guinea as oil exploitation. Some Catholic priests were trained as scientists, studying and documenting the local languages. It wasn’t always easy; some priests lived remotely for years with little contact with the outside world. Additionally, there were problems unique to the Catholic clergy, as highlighted in this quote from the book “Toean, Toean, Kartu Abis!” by Jan Aartsen. The book (“Sir, Sir, We ran out of map!”) chronicles the adventures of the Dutch sailors working on the landing ship Kais in the 1950s.
Landing craft Kais
My father was not based in Klamono but in Sorong, serving as a first mate on the landing ship Kais under Captain Piet "Snor" (nicknamed "Moustache" for his large mustache). The Kais was built in 1954 by the Arnhemsche Scheepsbouw Maatschappij N.V. and specifically designed to serve as a supply ship for the oil industry in Dutch Nieuw Guinea. I don’t think the 45-meter vessel could sail all the way to Klamono. My father cannot remember whether he traveled to Klamono by road or via the Klasafet River. The road was barely usable in the late 1950s, so the river seems more likely. The road was primarily used to inspect the pipeline and required regular clearing of the encroaching jungle.
Some of the oil products were used locally to develop the area.
This seems to be the Kais sailing up a river, maybe it could reach Klamono.
One day, my father, Kees, was on board one of the mappi, a small motor launch powered by a powerful diesel engine. Without prior warning, Captain Piet Snor handed my father the steering wheel. According to the story, my father didn’t know how to control the mappi, and after some wild manoeuvres, he accidentally hit the Kais, despite having been the third mate on the 136-meter-long oil tanker Omala just before being assigned to the Kais. The complete chapter can be read here: De mannen van de Kais, hoofdstuk 9
Below the river and the quay were the ships of the NNGPM would land, bringing supplies.
Below our local Papaua guide. His right arm was about 10 centimetres shorter than his left arm
Just before World War II, the NNGPM (Nederlandse Nieuw-Guinea Petroleum Maatschappij), a subsidiary of Shell, discovered oil in Klamono, though it was of poor quality. During the war, the land was occupied by the Japanese, and it wasn’t until 1945 that the NNGPM could exploit the oil fields in Klamono. A pipeline was constructed all the way to Sorong in the 1950s.
I hadn’t realized there was still oil production in Klamono in 2024. I expected to visit a small village, find little to see, and then head back to Sorong. Discovering functioning pumpjacks—two in total—was a pleasant surprise, and I was as excited as if I had discovered the oil myself. The Papuan children were also thrilled to guide me, a guest from Belanda, to the pumpjacks, making it a highlight of my journey.
There is some localised oil spillage.
In my excitement at finding oil and the distraction of seven Papuan children, I hadn’t paid attention to which phone was used to take some of the coolest photos. Unfortunately, it was Nenik's Android phone, which has a really bad, cheap potato camera. Some of the photos below are not even sharp.
For reasons I still don’y fully understand, this young fellow was so happy to see me he was holding hands with me and at times he was literally clinging to my leg. All the children looked unfiltered happy grinning ear to ear all the time.
Another small church in Klamono. opposite the church, in green, is a masjid, so there is a small Muslim population on Klamono as well. But in general the, mostly Dutch, missionaries have succeeded in converting the Papua’s of Klamono to Catholicism.
One young Papuan thought I needed a cool pair of sunglasses for the photo, and now I look like a member of ZZ Top—minus the long beard. The little shop belonged to the parents of the girl in the yellow T-shirt next to me, who was the only one able to speak some English. We tried to treat all the children to candy, but they all declined. In the end, we bought some water bottles for ourselves.
Above some old pre-1960 oil tanks. Below the current oil facility of Klamono.This is a pumping station. I don’t believe I have the complete overview of West-Papua oil industry. There is a report available for download for 125 USD. The oil refinery is located in Kasim, which is 90 kilometers from the oil terminal in Sorong. According to the report summary the Papua oil field recovered more than half of its total recoverable reserves, with peak production in 2020. Based on economic assumptions, production will continue until the field reaches its economic limit in 2069.
The oil company now based in Klamono is Pertamina, which is state owned by Indonesia. In 1957, Royal Dutch/Shell's assets in Indonesia were nationalised, from which Permina was founded. In 1968 Pertamina was created as merger between Permina and Pertamin.
Lunch in Klamono was definitely not Papuan. The only restaurant was run by a family from Madura, an island off the coast of East Java. A case of transmigration. I had ayam goreng lalapan, which consists of fried chicken and fresh vegetables.
In the afternoon we drove around the district Klamono. Below is Block B, apparently Indonesians are living here who came to West-Papua as transmigrants. The Indonesians call the movement of people between the different parts of Indonesia transmigration. They are often people from Java seeking job opportunities in parts of Indonesia with more space.
I never questioned how dragon fruit is grown, but in Klamono we drove past some dragon fruit cacti. It is the flower of a cactus native to the region of southern Mexico and along the Pacific coasts of Guatemala, Costa Rica, and El Salvador.
On our way back to the main road, a group of Papuan children waved at us. It would have been rude not to stop for a chat and another photo opportunity. They greeted me by kissing the back of my hand and then briefly placing my hand on their foreheads.
After our tour of Klamono, I felt we should give our impromptu guide something, but I had no idea what would be appropriate. In the end, Nenik gave him some money to buy betel nut, which he seemed pleased with.
In Sorong, I had noticed many red splashes on the pavement that I couldn't quite place. It turned out to be the spit of betel nut chewers. You buy the betel nut and betel leaves along with a mustard stick dipped in slaked lime powder, and then chew the combination, spiting out the red saliva.
How it ended for my father.
Driving back to Sorong I noticed the Dutch made pipeline. Somebody told me it is still the original pipe, which was laid in the 1950s but I find it hard to believe. In the 1950s the road was difficult to navigate and inspections were carried out by motorbike and even from a Bell helicopter. In the 1990s the road between Sorong and Klamono was properly asphalted.