Bintulu is traditionally a home to Iban, Chinese, Melanau, Malay, Orang Ulu and Kedayan people.

Kedayan people, although small in number, can be spotted at Nyalau areas (100 km from Bintulu) just at the border with Miri Division.

In addition to export as liquified natural gas, on-shore facilities produce fertiliser, and formaldehyde resins.

Bintulu also has about half of Sarawak's crude oil reserves of 500 million barrels (79,000,000 m3), with production wells located some 40 kilometers offshore.

Bintulu has around 27% of Sarawak’s tropical rainforest, and the timber industry remains a strong component of the Division's economy.

The Division is the main producer of wood species from peat swamp forests such as Ramin, Alan, and Jongkong.

[citation needed] Agriculture is relatively minor although growing steadily, with oil palm, rattan and pepper the main products.

River transport charges remain high in Bintulu Division due to the long distance of the upriver areas.

There are some rural areas which are accessible by timber tracks and palm estate roads such as Labang, Tubau and Kakus.

Availability of transports to these areas are limited through bookings at Bintulu town, using private vans or four-wheel drive vehicles.

Bintulu Division is expected to expand rapidly due to Similajau being part of Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy regional development and ongoing gas pipeline project from Sabah to Tanjung Kidurong.

IKM Bintulu is a government institution that caters for human capital development in the oil and gas industry.