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
| 02 Jul 25 |
Malaysia: Velesto secures PTTEP drilling contract for NAGA 5 in 2025–2026 campaign Velesto Energy has been awarded a drilling contract by PTTEP for its 2025–2026 drilling campaign in Malaysia. Under the contract, Velesto will assign NAGA 5, one of its premium jack-up rigs, to drill a firm 15 wells with operations scheduled to commence in June 2025. |
| 30 Jun 25 |
Malaysia: PETRONAS welcomes 20 global startups to its FutureTech corporate accelerator programme PETRONAS has selected 20 high potential startups for the fourth edition of its FutureTech accelerator programme. The selected startups, representing seven countries, are advancing innovative solutions aligned with the programme’s three key themes: Future of Industry and Work, Future of Energy and Future of Chemicals and Materials. |
| 23 Jun 25 |
Malaysia: Woodside and PETRONAS eye long-term LNG supply Woodside Energy and PETRONAS, through its subsidiary PETRONAS LNG, have signed a non-binding Heads of Agreement (HOA) for the supply of 1 million tonnes per annum of LNG to Malaysia from 2028 for a period of 15 years. |
| 23 Jun 25 |
Malaysia: PETRONAS, MISC and MOL announce landmark JV to advance cross-border CO2 transportation PETRONAS CCS Ventures, MISC, and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, (MOL) have announced the incorporation of a strategic JV, Jules Nautica. This JV will lead the development and act as the ultimate owner of Liquefied Carbon Dioxide (LCO2) carriers, which are critical for transporting LCO2 to designated storage sites as part of advancing carbon capture and storage (CCS) solutions. |
| 20 Jun 25 |
Malaysia: ENEOS Xplora concludes agreement with PETRONAS to extend the PSC for Block SK10, offshore Malaysia ENEOS Xplora has concluded an agreement with PETRONAS to extend the Production Sharing Contract for Block SK10 located off the coast of Sarawak, offshore Malaysia, for 10 years, from 2028 to 2038. |
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
