Offshore drilling in Malaysia
Letter from Singapore: Exploring Southeast Asia’s upstream mix
The region’s upstream is not just a space for NOCs
Southeast Asia’s E&P sector has seen an exodus of IOCs over the past decade, while portfolio rationalisation led to them doubling down on core acreage elsewhere. As the IOCs retreated from the region, various NOCs eagerly grabbed most of the discarded producing assets. The NOC share of hydrocarbon production in Southeast Asia is forecast to reach 56pc this year compared with 42pc in 2011, data from consultancy Rystad Energy’s upstream UCube database indicates. Over this same period, the share for the majors will drop from over a third to under a quarter. Vietnam’s NOC share is particularly high, at 78pc. In Indonesia, NOC Pertamina’s trend of taking over expiring contracts, such as the
Also in this section
7 July 2025
The end of Grangemouth and Lindsey oil refineries marks a worrying trend across Europe amid cost and transition pressures
3 July 2025
The July/August 2025 issue of Petroleum Economist is out now!
2 July 2025
The global energy community will converge in Dubai on 10 December for a landmark event dedicated to shaping the future of natural gas across the region
30 June 2025
Government is sending out the right policy signals to support increased domestic gas development, but policy takes time to implement and even longer to yield results
