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
| 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. |
| 18 Mar 25 |
Malaysia: Seascape Energy completes Block 2A farm-out Seascape Energy, an E&P company focused on Southeast Asia, has completed the farm-out of a 42.5% participating interest in the Block 2A Production Sharing Contract to INPEX CORPORATION. |
| 17 Mar 25 |
Malaysia-Brunei deepwater collaboration delivers first oil PETRONAS, through Malaysia Petroleum Management (MPM), has announced the first oil delivery from the Gumusut-Kakap/Geronggong-Jagus East (GKGJE) Phase 4 project. The event marks another milestone in the cross-border collaboration between Malaysia and Brunei. |
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
