Kuala Belait, officially known in Malay as Pekan Kuala Belait (literally ‘Kuala Belait Town’), is a town located in the westernmost part of Brunei, in Belait District. It is the second largest settlement in the country after Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei, and functions as the capital for the district. Kuala Belait is officially a municipality (Malay: bandaran), as well as a village-level subdivision under the mukim or subdistrict of the same name. Kuala Belait literally means “the mouth of the Belait River” in the Malay language. Its name comes from kuala meaning either confluence of two rivers or the mouth of a river, and Belait, the name of the river and district. It is also known locally as “Belait”. When needed to distinguish it from the district of the same name, it is known locally as “KB town” in English or “Pekan Belait” in Malay.
Kuala Belait is located close to the western border of Brunei with the State of Sarawak. The town center is bounded by the South China Sea to the north, the Belait River to the west and south and the suburbs of Kampong Sungai Pandan and Kampong Mumong to the east and south-east respectively. The historic administrative capital of the Belait district, Kuala Balai is located to the south and is linked to Kuala Belait by both road and river, and the oil town of Seria is located about 10 miles (16 km) east. Bandar Seri Begawan is about 120 km to the north-east. The Sarawakian city of Miri is located about 40 km the south-west.
Kuala Belait is located in the vicinity of the onshore Rasau gas field. There are however, no wells in the municipality. However Brunei Shell has various facilities in town to support the oil and gas production facilities in the vicinity. The Kuala Belait Bunkering Station (KBBS) is located near the mouth of the Belait River. It supplies domestic gas to the town and other bulk chemicals in support of the various activities. The Kuala Belait Wharf is the main point from which personnel to and from the offshore platforms, off the Belait districts, embark and disembark. The KB supply base is located to the south of the wharf, and is the main point for logistics for Shell. The Marine Construction Yard, commonly known as SCO, is where construction of marine structures are carried out prior to installation offshore. The Rasau field is located to the southwest of Kuala Belait town. The main area for the field is located south of Kampong Sungai Teraban and most of the wells are located there. However, there are also some oil/gas wells to the south and east of Kuala Belait town in Kg. Sg. Duhon and Kg. Sg. Pandan respectively.
It is possible to hire a “water taxi” at the public wharf close to the Kuala Belait market to go upriver towards Kuala Balai. There are also trips organised by the Kuala Belait Boat Club to sail out in the open sea to various nearby destinations. The Port of Kuala Belait is one of the three ports of Brunei. The other port in Brunei is at the other end of the country at Muara. The part of the port near the mouth of the river is operated by Brunei Shell and public entry is restricted. The commercial port of Kuala Belait is located to the south of the municipality in Kg. Sungai Duhon and its environs further upriver from the mouth. Due to silting of the river mouth, the port can only take shallow draft vessels. Two breakwaters have been constructed at the mouth of the Belait River to reduce silting of the river mouth. However, regular dredging is required to keep the port in operation.
