Energy

With Malaysia’s steady economic growth and expected regional surge in energy demand, the country’s oil and gas sector continues to play a key role economically, socially and strategically. Most of the country’s major oil-producing fields are in the west, with the Sabah and Sarawak basins in the east. As mature oil fields continue to decline in production, development of new fields has shifted to more technically and economically challenging areas. Expanding on past successes, Malaysia is gearing up investments in the upstream sector to cope with overall energy demand that is expected to be about 50% greater in 2040 compared to 2010 levels, according to projections by ExxonMobile. Alongside fiscal initiatives for trading, Malaysia continues to expand its liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure to accommodate increasing supplies of natural gas. The country’s first floating LNG facility is currently being constructed and is expected to come online by the end of 2015. Eagerly awaited reforms in power generation should also positively affect public and private stakeholders as fuel and electricity subsidies are phased out and tender process for new plants become competitive and transparent. This chapter contains an energy viewpoint from Greg Rickford, Canadian Minister of Natural Resources.