Fig. 1: The island of Borneo, which contains several significant oil- producing regions. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
In Southeast Asia, Malaysia is the second-largest oil and natural gas producer and is the worlds fifth largest exporter of liquified natural gas. [1] Oil production is governed by PETRONAS, a corporation formed in 1974 by the Malaysian government to own and administer all petroleum resources in the country. [2] Malaysia's energy industry is important for its economy, and the country is strategically located on important routes for seaborne energy trade. [1] While the government has been attempting to increase the production of hydrocarbons, which are the primary constituents of petroleum and natural gas, it has been increasingly challenging due to maturing fields and a lack of new fields. [1] As such, oil remains an important energy source for the country.
Given data on the total number of barrels of oil produced per day, we can analyze the total amount of oil produced in Malaysia. [3] Using 366 days in a year to include the leap year, we can also calculate the total number of barrels of oil produced per year. 1 barrel of oil contains 6.119 million kJ of energy (6.119 × 109 J). [3] Thus in Table 1 we have for 2011
Oil Production | = | 6.59 × 105 bbl d-1 × 366 d y-1 |
= | 2.41 × 108 bbl y-1 | |
Energy Production | = | 2.41 × 108 bbl y-1 × 6.12 × 109 J bbl-1 |
= | 1.47 × 1015 J y-1 |
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Table 1: The total production of oil in Malaysia from 2011 to 2021. [3] |
From 2011 to 2016, there was an increase in the total amount of energy from oil production, with a maximum of 1.63 x 1018 J in 2016. From 2016 onward, there was a steady decrease in the total energy produced, culminating in a minimum of 1.29 x 1018 J in 2021. A general decrease of oil production in Malaysia has been noted since reaching a peak in 2004, partially due to maturing offshore oil reservoirs. [2]
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[1] "Country Analysis Executive Summary: Malaysia," U.S. Energy Information Administration, January 2021
[2] K. A. Rahim and A. Liwan, "Oil and Gas Trends and Implications in Malaysia," Energy Policy 50, 262 (2012).
[3] "BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2022," British Petroleum, June 2022.