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
| 13 Nov 25 |
Malaysia: Petros signs three strategic energy agreements with international industry players Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (PETROS) has signed two strategic energy agreements and a storage study agreement with international industry players to unlock Sarawak’s onshore exploration potentials through targeted programmes, and to progress Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) projects in Central Luconia, Sarawak. |
| 12 Nov 25 |
Malaysia: JOGMEC signs Joint Study Agreement with PETROS for onshore oil and gas exploration in Sarawak JOGMEC has signed a Joint Study Agreement (JSA) with Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (PETROS), the state-owned oil and gas company of Sarawak, Malaysia. The agreement, outlines a plan to jointly conduct geological and geophysical surveys onshore Sarawak. |
| 12 Nov 25 |
Malaysia: PETRONAS strengthens global collaboration on AI integration ecosystem and high-performance computing to advance Malaysia’s upstream sector PETRONAS, through Malaysia Petroleum Management (MPM), signed a series of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) at ADIPEC 2025, demonstrating its commitment to global collaboration and technology driven innovation. |
| 11 Nov 25 |
Malaysia: PETRONAS and Putrajaya Holdings ink agreement to develop PETRONAS Geoscience Technology Centre PETRONAS, through Malaysia Petroleum Management (MPM), has formalised an agreement with Gilang Cendana Sdn Bhd (GCSB), a subsidiary of Putrajaya Holdings Sdn Bhd (PjH) to develop the PETRONAS Geoscience Technology Centre (PGTC). |
| 10 Nov 25 |
Malaysia: Groundbreaking ceremony of the new biorefinery by PETRONAS, Enilive and Euglena in Pengerang, Johor, Malaysia Pengerang Biorefinery, a joint venture between PETRONAS, Enilive and Euglena, marked a key milestone with the groundbreaking ceremony for the development of the new biorefinery in Pengerang, Johor, Malaysia. |
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
