Malaysia looks to deepwater to sustain output

The country is nearing a tipping point as its domestic needs continue to grow

Malaysia has a long-established oil and gas industry, including via its powerful NOC Petronas. But maturing assets and the prioritisation of gas and LNG over oil is seeing a growing focus on deepwater exploration, allied with overseas activity. At the same time, Petronas is also facing domestic challenges with the provincial government of Sarawak state and international disputes over maritime boundaries. As of December last year, Petronas stated that “Malaysia’s production currently stands at about 500,000b/d of liquids and 7bcf/d of gas.” The NOC also announced “a long-term target to sustain and grow Malaysia’s oil and gas production... by 2025 and beyond”, citing a pipeline of projects, in