Central & SE Asia / Australasia
Country profile: Malaysia
| Location: | Southeastern Asia, peninsula bordering Thailand and northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia, Brunei, and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam |
| Climate: | tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons |
| Terrain: | coastal plains rising to hills and mountains |
| Size: | 329750 sq. km total (Land area: 328550 sq. km Water area: 1200 sq.km) |
| Population: | 25,274,133 (July 2008 est.) |
| Languages: | Bahasa Malaysia (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai |
| Government: | constitutional monarchy |
| Capital city: | Kuala Lumpur |
| Legal system: | based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court at request of supreme head of the federation; Islamic law is applied to Muslims in matters of family law and religion; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Currency: | ringgit (MYR) |
| Licensing: |
Country profile
During the late 18th and 19th centuries, Great Britain established colonies and protectorates in the area of current Malaysia; these were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. In 1948, the British-ruled territories on the Malay Peninsula formed the Federation of Malaya, which became independent in 1957. Malaysia was formed in 1963 when the former British colonies of Singapore and the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo joined the Federation.
The first several years of the country's history were marred by a Communist insurgency, Indonesian confrontation with Malaysia, Philippine claims to Sabah, and Singapore's secession from the Federation in 1965. During the 22-year term of Prime Minister MAHATHIR bin Mohamad (1981-2003), Malaysia was successful in diversifying its economy from dependence on exports of raw materials to expansion in manufacturing, services, and tourism.
Energy production and consumption
| Oil | Gas | |
| Production: | 751,800 bbl/day (2005 est.) | 60 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Consumption: | 501,000 bbl/day (2005 est.) | 31 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Exports: | 611,200 bbl/day (2004 est.) | 29 billion cu m (2004 est.) |
| Imports: | 278,600 bbl/day (2004 est.) | |
| Reserves: | 3 billion bbl (2007 est.) | 2 trillion cu m (1 January 2006 est.) |
| Major fields: |
Malaysia - recent news
| 16 Jun 25 |
Malaysia: PETRONAS awards first MBR 2025 PSC to Dialog, unlocking East Coast Sabah's hydrocarbon potential PETRONAS, through Malaysia Petroleum Management (MPM), awarded a Small Field Asset Production Sharing Contract (SFA PSC) for the Mutiara Cluster, off the coast of Sabah, offered under the Malaysia Bid Round 2025 (MBR 2025) launched earlier this year. |
| 10 Jun 25 |
Malaysia: EnQuest awarded Malaysia PAC Operator of the Year award EnQuest Malaysia was the proud recipient of two prestigious awards, including Operator of the Year, at the recent PETRONAS Emerald Awards ceremony in Kuala Lumpur. This is the second consecutive year in which EnQuest has been recognised as the best Petroleum Arrangement Contractor ('PAC') by PETRONAS. |
| 14 Apr 25 |
Malaysia: PETRONAS partnership poised to unlock Malay Basin's full potential PETRONAS, through Malaysia Petroleum Management (MPM), in collaboration with Beicip Franlab Asia, has embarked on an Integrated Basin Study to explore untapped resources in the Malay Basin, located off the coast of Peninsular Malaysia. |
| 10 Apr 25 |
Malaysia/Vietnam: PETRONAS and PETROVIETNAM strengthen partnership with 20-year PSC and UGSA Extension for PM3 CAA PETRONAS, through Malaysia Petroleum Management (MPM), and Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PETROVIETNAM) have signed a Key Principles Agreement (KPA) to extend the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) and Upstream Gas Sales Agreement (UGSA) for the PM3 Commercial Arrangement Area (CAA) for another 20 years. |
| 02 Apr 25 |
Malaysia: PETRONAS confirms fire incident at PGB main pipeline near Putra Heights, Subang Jaya PETRONAS confirms that a fire has occurred at the main PETRONAS Gas Berhad (PGB) pipeline near Putra Heights, Subang Jaya, Selangor on 1st April 2025. |
Malaysia - more news
Other countries in this region
- Australia,
- Bangladesh,
- Brunei,
- Cambodia,
- China,
- Fiji,
- Hong Kong,
- India,
- Indonesia,
- Japan,
- Laos,
- Maldives,
- Mongolia,
- Myanmar,
- Nepal,
- New Zealand,
- North Korea,
- Pakistan,
- Palau,
- Papua New Guinea,
- Philippines,
- Singapore,
- South Korea,
- Sri Lanka,
- Taiwan,
- Thailand,
- Timor Leste,
- Vietnam
