Malaysia

What the official data say, and how old they are

Malaysia's official energy statistics are compiled by the Energy Commission (Suruhanjaya Tenaga) and published through the Malaysia Energy Information Hub. The latest handbook listed there, the Malaysia Energy Statistics Handbook 2022, carries national energy balance data through 2020. On those figures, Malaysia produced 26,783 thousand tonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe) of crude oil in 2020, about 537,000 barrels a day by our conversion, and 72,579 ktoe of natural gas, so gas was 2.7 times larger than oil in energy terms. Crude and condensate resources, reported by PETRONAS, stood at 4.53 billion barrels. All figures on this page come from that handbook, downloaded and checked in October 2026, unless stated otherwise.

The age of the data is the first thing a reader needs to know. Six years is long in oil markets, and later operator figures exist, but the Energy Commission's handbook is the national statistical record, and it is the source this page has verified. Where the page converts units, it uses the handbook's own conversion coefficients and says so.

Source for this page: Malaysia Energy Statistics Handbook 2022, Energy Commission, listed on the Malaysia Energy Information Hub publications page, checked October 2026.

Resources by region: the centre of gravity moved east

The handbook reports crude oil and condensate resources by region in billions of barrels, sourced to PETRONAS.

Year	Peninsular Malaysia	Sarawak	Sabah	Total
1990	2.943	0.000	0.000	2.943
2000	1.920	0.620	0.850	3.390
2005	1.770	1.970	1.560	5.300
2012	2.413	1.941	1.600	5.954
2015	2.205	2.009	1.693	5.907
2019	1.476	1.497	1.702	4.675
2020	1.306	1.451	1.770	4.527

Source: Energy Commission handbook 2022, "Resources of Crude Oil and Condensates by Region", source PETRONAS, checked October 2026.

Three things stand out. First, the table shows zero resources for Sarawak and Sabah in 1990 and 1991 and separate figures from 1992; the handbook does not say whether the early zeros reflect reporting practice or assessment, so the early totals are not strictly comparable. Second, total resources peaked at 5.954 billion barrels in 2012 and fell about 24% to 4.527 billion by 2020. Third, Sabah overtook Peninsular Malaysia in 2019 and was the largest region in 2020, at 1.770 billion barrels, while Peninsular resources had halved from their 2012 level. The waters off Sabah, in other words, now hold the largest share of what remains.

A note on the word "resources". The handbook uses it for PETRONAS's reported figures, and the term is broader than proved reserves in some reporting systems. Comparisons with other countries' "proved reserves" should be made with care; our barrel of oil explainer covers how reserve categories differ.

Production: an oil peak in 2004, a gas economy since

The handbook's primary production table reports crude oil and natural gas in ktoe.

Year	Crude oil (ktoe)	Est. crude b/d	Natural gas (ktoe)	Gas as multiple of crude
1990	30,629	616,000	15,487	0.5
2000	30,839	619,000	52,432	1.7
2004	38,041	763,000	57,768	1.5
2010	32,163	647,000	71,543	2.2
2015	32,440	653,000	67,209	2.1
2019	29,878	601,000	73,230	2.5
2020	26,783	537,000	72,579	2.7

Source: Energy Commission handbook 2022, "Primary Production by Fuel Type", ktoe, checked October 2026. Barrel estimates by PetroEyes using the handbook's coefficients (see the worked example below).

The 2004 figure is the highest crude production in the 1990 to 2020 series, and 2020 is the lowest, about 30% below the peak. Gas output grew almost fivefold between 1990 and 2010 and has stayed near 70,000 ktoe since. The ratio column is the clearest summary of the country's structural change: in 1990 crude was about twice the size of gas; by 2020 gas was 2.7 times the size of crude.

Worked example: from ktoe to barrels a day

The handbook gives every coefficient needed to convert its energy units into barrels:

1. One thousand tonnes of oil equivalent equals 41.84 terajoules.
2. Domestic crude petroleum carries 43.3 terajoules per thousand tonnes, so one ktoe of domestic crude is 41.84 divided by 43.3, or about 0.966 thousand tonnes.
3. The handbook's factor for local crude is 7.60 barrels per tonne.
4. For 2020: 26,783 ktoe times 0.966 is about 25,880 thousand tonnes; times 7.60 is about 196.7 million barrels; divided by 366 days (2020 was a leap year) is about 537,000 barrels a day.

The handbook uses a different factor for imported crude, 7.33 barrels per tonne with 42.6133 terajoules per thousand tonnes, which reflects heavier average imported grades. Using the wrong one moves the result by several percent. The crude production line may include condensate as reported in the energy balance, so these estimates should be compared with "crude and condensate" figures elsewhere, not crude alone.

Trade: still a crude exporter, by a shrinking margin

The handbook's crude trade table, in ktoe:

Year	Crude imports	Crude exports	Exports minus imports
1990	1,047	22,949	21,902
2000	7,218	17,254	10,036
2010	7,760	17,125	9,365
2015	8,379	16,075	7,696
2019	10,306	12,483	2,177
2020	6,969	10,604	3,635

Source: Energy Commission handbook 2022, "Import and Export of Crude Oil", source National Energy Balance 2020, checked October 2026.

Malaysia remained a net crude exporter in every year of the series, but the net surplus fell from 21,902 ktoe in 1990 to 2,177 ktoe in 2019. In 2020 exports were about 213,000 barrels a day and imports about 137,000 by our conversion with the handbook's local and imported factors. The handbook's own chart puts imports at 29.5% of total crude trade in 2000 and 39.7% in 2020. A country can export and import crude at the same time because grades differ: light, sweet local crude commands a premium abroad, while some refineries are configured for other grades. Our WTI vs Brent spread explainer covers why crude quality and location drive those trade flows.

Gas: the larger export

The handbook also reports gas trade in ktoe.

Year	LNG exports	LNG imports	Piped gas imports	Piped gas exports
2000	16,633	none	none	1,198
2010	25,487	none	7,013	1,340
2017	29,428	1,815	5,183	1,452
2020	26,155	2,939	5,519	1,179

Source: Energy Commission handbook 2022, "Import and Export of Piped Natural Gas and LNG", checked October 2026.

LNG exports in 2020 were about two and a half times crude exports in energy terms (26,155 against 10,604 ktoe), which is the simplest measure of why Malaysia's hydrocarbon economy is a gas economy. LNG exports were about 11% below their 2017 level in 2020. The table also shows that Malaysia imports gas, by pipeline since 2003 and as LNG since 2013, while exporting far more as LNG. For how LNG is priced and contracted, see our page on LNG export dynamics.

Refining: two-thirds local crude, a shift toward diesel and petrol

Refinery crude input in 2020 was 22,974 ktoe, of which 15,739 ktoe was local crude and 7,235 ktoe imported crude and other feedstocks. Local crude's share was 68.5%, very close to 69.6% in 2000. At the handbook's coefficients, total input in 2020 was roughly 458,000 barrels a day, against roughly 504,000 in 2019.

The product slate changed more than the crude slate. The handbook's charts of refinery output show:

Product share of refinery output	2000	2020
Diesel	38.5%	44.3%
Petrol	18.6%	24.5%
Jet fuel and aviation gasoline	12.7%	11.9%
Fuel oil	12.1%	5.8%
Non-energy products	11.9%	9.4%
LPG	4.0%	3.2%

Source: Energy Commission handbook 2022, "Production of Petroleum Products from Refineries", checked October 2026. Total output was 20,954 ktoe in 2000 and 20,745 ktoe in 2020.

Total refinery output was almost unchanged over twenty years, but fuel oil's share halved and petrol and diesel together rose from 57% to 69%. That is the common pattern of refining upgrades: less heavy residue, more transport fuel. The refinery crack spreads explainer explains why refiners chase that shift.

Demand: what 2020 did to fuel use

Final consumption of petroleum products, in ktoe:

Product	2000	2010	2019	2020	Change 2019 to 2020
Petrol	6,387	9,560	13,811	11,188	-19%
Diesel	7,627	8,388	10,583	8,516	-20%
Jet fuel and AVGAS	1,574	2,380	3,261	1,199	-63%
LPG	1,362	2,920	3,017	3,423	+13%
Total petroleum products	19,581	24,402	31,835	25,309	-20.5%

Source: Energy Commission handbook 2022, "Final Energy Consumption for Petroleum Products", checked October 2026.

Petrol has been larger than diesel in every year since 2012 and was the largest product in 2019, at about 308,000 barrels a day by our conversion against about 214,000 for diesel. The 2020 column records the pandemic year: jet fuel fell by almost two thirds, petrol and diesel by about a fifth, while LPG rose 13%. That contrast is a useful reminder that a single "oil demand" number hides products that move in opposite directions.

Oil in the wider energy balance

The handbook's key indicators for 2020 put the size of oil in context. Final energy consumption was 57,169 ktoe, so petroleum products, at 25,309 ktoe, supplied about 44% of the energy that Malaysian households, businesses and vehicles used directly. With a mid-year population of about 32.58 million (Department of Statistics Malaysia, as reported in the handbook), that is roughly 0.78 tonnes of oil equivalent of petroleum products per person in 2020. On the production side, crude oil made up about 25% of Malaysia's primary energy output of 105,054 ktoe, and natural gas about 69%. The two shares point the same way as the rest of this page: oil is the main fuel that Malaysians consume directly, but gas is the main energy that the country produces.

Prices: Malaysian crude grades against the market

The handbook lists PETRONAS official selling prices for Malaysian crude grades, annual averages in US dollars a barrel.

Year	Tapis Blend	Labuan	Kikeh
2008	102.79	102.79	n/a
2009	64.97	64.97	n/a
2012	118.22	118.66	115.94
2014	103.26	106.41	105.66
2015	45.12	47.73	46.96
2020	43.65	45.05	45.05

Source: Energy Commission handbook 2022, "Official Selling Prices of Malaysian Crude Oil", source PETRONAS, checked October 2026.

Until 2011 the handbook shows Tapis and Labuan at identical prices; from 2012 Labuan priced above Tapis, by US$1.40 in 2020. The 2014 to 2015 collapse, from US$103.26 to US$45.12 for Tapis, is the same price cycle visible in every benchmark of the period, and a reminder that the state's petroleum income moves with it.

Limits and what was removed

• Data end in 2020. The Energy Commission's published handbook and energy balances listed on the information hub stop at 2020 and 2021 respectively. Later figures from PETRONAS or other bodies were not verified for this page.
• Conversions are estimates. Every barrel-per-day figure here is derived from ktoe using the handbook's coefficients, which are averages.
• Resources are not reserves. The regional table reports PETRONAS resources, a broader measure than proved reserves in some systems.
• Removed claims. Earlier versions of this page described 2024 production and consumption, specific projects, carbon capture leadership and downstream investments that could not be traced to a primary source in this review. They have been removed.

For comparison with Malaysia's neighbours, see the Thailand country page, built from monthly government tables, and the Indonesia country page. The world oil production map shows where Malaysia sits among producers.

Frequently asked questions

How much oil does Malaysia produce?

The latest official national energy balance figure is for 2020: 26,783 ktoe of crude oil, about 537,000 barrels a day by conversion with the Energy Commission's coefficients. That was the lowest annual figure in the 1990 to 2020 series; the highest was 2004, at about 763,000 barrels a day.

Is Malaysia a net oil exporter?

For crude, yes, in every year of the official 1990 to 2020 series, but by a shrinking margin: net crude exports fell from 21,902 ktoe in 1990 to 3,635 ktoe in 2020. Malaysia also imports crude: imported crude and other feedstocks made up 31.5% of refinery input in 2020.

How much oil does Malaysia have left?

PETRONAS reported crude oil and condensate resources of 4.527 billion barrels at end-2020, according to the Energy Commission handbook, down from a peak of 5.954 billion in 2012. Sabah held the largest regional share, 1.770 billion barrels.

Why does Malaysia export and import crude at the same time?

Because crude grades differ. Light local grades can be sold abroad at good prices, while some refineries run imported grades or blends. The handbook shows both flows in every year since 1990.

Is Malaysia more of an oil or a gas producer?

A gas producer. In 2020, natural gas production was 72,579 ktoe against 26,783 ktoe for crude, and LNG exports alone were about two and a half times crude exports in energy terms.

Sources

• Energy Commission (Suruhanjaya Tenaga), Malaysia Energy Statistics Handbook 2022, including tables sourced to PETRONAS and the National Energy Balance 2020, checked October 2026.
• Barrel-per-day conversions use the handbook's conversion coefficients and are PetroEyes calculations.