Japanese oil exploration company Inpex Corporation discovered oil at the Bestari 1 exploration well, offshore Sabah, on Tuesday.
Oil at the well, located at…
READ MOREOil reserves2.7 billion barrels
Oil production573,000 bopd
Gas reserves900 mcm
Gas production74.2 bcm
Malaysia’s oil and gas industry is a major pillar of the nation’s economy. The country of more than 23 million citizens is the second-largest hydrocarbons producer in Southeast Asia and the fifth largest exporter of LNG in the world. Malaysia began producing oil in the early 1900s from onshore assets in Sarawak and began moving into shallow-water plays in Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and Sabah in the 1960s. New technologies have unlocked new opportunities for more industrious offshore plays in the country’s main producing basins. The government has long pursued development of its maturing and marginal fields and further exploration activities to address a decline in production.
Malaysia’s oil and gas industry is tightly led by its NOC Petronas, which was established in 1974 and holds exclusive ownership rights to all E&P activities. The company’s contributions comprise around 35% of the state’s revenue. State-run upstream watchdog Petroleum Management Unit is responsible for handing out and overseeing production sharing licences in the country. The country has successfully attracted international IOCs interested in taking part in upstream opportunities, including ExxonMobil, Shell, ConocoPhillips, Spain’s Repsol and Japan’s JX Nippon Oil and Gas.
The nation is one of the world’s largest gas producers and exporters. While Malaysia’s NOC is the lead player in gas production and assets, Shell has established itself the second largest producer along with ExxonMobil, Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production Public Company and Indonesia’s Pertamina having large shares in gas production. The largest domestic destinations for produced gas are the country’s industrial sector, which takes up around 49%, and the power generation sector, which takes up around 50%.
Malaysia boasts an extensive natural gas pipeline network. The majority, known as the Peninsular Gas Utilization network, is located in Peninsular Malaysia. Export of LNG comes from Malaysia’s regasification terminals, which are connected to its major pipeline network and exported to Singapore. LNG is mainly exported to other countries in the Asia Pacific region, with Japan and China being the main importers of Malaysian gas.
The oil pipeline system in the country is limited, and transport of the product remains largely dependent on tankers and onshore vehicles. The country has initiated projects to expand its oil storage capacity based on a capacity shortage in Southeast Asia, particularly in Singapore; Malaysia aims to become a regional storage alternative. Continued investment in refining activity over the last few decades has led to Malaysia generally meeting its domestic requirements. The nation is now looking to expand its refining capacity to supply the region and capitalise on exports.
McDermott has won a contract from a Malaysian PTTEP subsidiary to enable gas delivery to a subsea production system tied back to…
READ MOREWestlawn has bought a 20% stake in BS-4 block offshore Brazil from Enauta for $300 million.
READ MOREMalaysia's Petronas is eyeing new investments in the Atlantic Basin in a bid to boost its global LNG market share to 10%.
READ MOREFouad Mohammed Ali, CEO and managing partner of Upstream Solutions, talks to The Energy Year about the company’s role in Kuwait’s oil and gas industry and its…
READ MORERystad Energy has predicted a rise in upstream M&As in Southeast Asia in the next two years based on more than USD 5 million in assets on offer, the energy research…
READ MOREShell has completed the sale of two offshore oil and gas concessions in Malaysia’s Baram Delta, the London-headquartered energy giant announced on Wednesday.
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Japanese oil exploration company Inpex Corporation discovered oil at the Bestari 1 exploration well, offshore Sabah, on Tuesday.
Oil at the well, located at…
READ MOREThe acting CEO of local oilfield services company Bumi Wangsa, Syed Salikhin Alsagoff, speaks to TOGY about state-run Petronas’ vendor development programme (VDP).…
READ MOREMichael Rodgers, vice-president of the Energy Insight Asia division of US market analysis company IHS, tells TOGY why Malaysia is now better suited to smaller…
READ MOREAustralian oil and gas company Santos, along with Japanese and Malaysian partners, discovered oil via an exploration well dubbed Bestari-1. Drilling revealed 67 metres…
READ MOREMurphy Oil vice-president for Malaysia John James speaks to TOGW about the current dynamics in Malaysia’s exploration and production sector, including the challenges…
READ MOREEY partner and oil and gas leader for Malaysia Ismed Darwis talks to TOGY about the impact that the oil price fluctuations are having on the Malaysian industry. EY…
READ MOREFollowing a period of rising capital expenditure in Malaysia’s domestic upstream sector, a drop in oil prices has set a remarkably different tone for 2015. PwC…
READ MORENational oil company Petronas has instituted an aggressive domestic campaign of marginal field, enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and deepwater projects for Malaysia.…
READ MOREFrederico Gil Sander, senior country economist for Malaysia at the World Bank, discusses the country’s economic outlook and the likely effects of lower oil prices.…
READ MOREOn Monday, government-owned oil and gas company Petronas announced it had appointed Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin as president and CEO. Wan Zulkiflee follows in the…
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