His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam's official visit to the Netherlands began yesterday at the Royal Dutch Shell headquarters in The Hague, over 50 kilometres away from Amsterdam.

The Royal Dutch Shell has been operating in Brunei Darussalam since 1929 and the ruler's visit to the headquarters was to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the partnership between His Majesty's Government and the oil and gas company.

His Majesty was welcomed by Royal Dutch Shell Chief Executive officer Peter R Voser and Executive Director Malcolm Brinded.

At the headquarters, His Majesty was led to the lobby to view an exhibition on facts and milestones achieved by Royal Dutch Shell and Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sdn Bhd.

Shell is committed to delivering the world's best technology and know-how to sustain the long-term growth and prosperity of Brunei Darussalam in oil and gas exploration and production.

It is also the world's largest oil explorer and produced 1.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent in 2010 - enough to supply Brunei's needs for more than 48 years.

Royal Dutch Shell further prides itself for serving 7,000 aircraft per day at 850 airports across 55 countries - refueling a plane every 12 seconds.

After viewing the exhibition, His Majesty attended a close-door meeting. Also in attendance were Second Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Dewa Dato Seri Setia Lim Jock Seng and Minister of Energy Pehin Datu Singamenteri Col (R) Dato Seri Paduka Haji Mohammad Yasmin bin Haji Umar.

Later, the monarch visited the Shell Exploration and Production International Centre at Rijiswik and upon arrival was welcomed by the Director of Project and Technology Matthias Bichsel.

At the centre, His Majesty viewed the technical exhibition where the ruler was informed on Smart Well technologies that have been implemented in Brunei Darussalam as well as the possibility of deepwater technologies for the exploration of oil in the future for the Sultanate.

His Majesty was also brought to witness the cutting-edge 'Virtual Reality Centre (I-Scope)' to view its operations in 3-D.

At the centre, Bruneians working at BSP and are currently on cross-posting at Royal Dutch Shell headquarters were also given the opportunity to meet and greet His Majesty at a tea reception organised at the centre. Furthermore, Dutch nationals who have been posted in Brunei Darussalam also met His Majesty and related their wonderful experiences of having worked in Brunei for several years.

Before leaving the centre, Peter Voser presented a unique 'pesambah' of a preserved fish 'Enneles audax' from Brazil, which is 110-million-years old. - Borneo Bulletin (14th January 2011)