Petronas Says It's on Alert over Fuel Supply in Malaysia

Oil-producing Malaysia "is not fully insulated" from the supply disruption brought about by the ongoing war in the Middle East, the Southeast Asian country's national oil and gas company warned as it assured it was "closely" monitoring domestic fuel supply.

"Nearly 40 percent of the country’s crude oil requirements transit through the Strait of Hormuz", Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) said in an online statement last week.

"Since the onset of the crisis, crude oil prices have risen by almost 40 percent. Consequently, global shipping costs, insurance premiums and delivery-related logistics have also increased significantly. All these developments have impacted Malaysia’s fuel supply security.

"On the product side, national demand continues to exceed domestic supply. To address this shortfall, Petronas leverages on its integrated value chain, working through its subsidiaries to secure sufficient petrol and diesel supply, to support its market share of nearly 50 percent, up to May 2026. The balance is being supplied by the other oil companies operating in Malaysia".

Petronas said that thanks to government's subsidies, fuel prices in Malaysia are "among the lowest in the region".

"As the duration and full magnitude of the war in Iran remains uncertain, Petronas strongly advocates more efficient energy consumption by both industry and members of the public", the statement added.

"The company would also advise members of the public to avoid panic buying and hoarding of fuels as this would worsen the impact of this crisis".

In the electricity sector, Malaysia's grid and system demand were within available capacity as of Monday. Nearly half of the available capacity of over 23,000 megawatts (MW) was gas power (about 10,500 MW), according to the online dashboard of the nation's Grid System Operator.

Last year Malaysia produced 2,943.8 billion cubic feet of natural gas, down three percent from 2024, according to data published by the country's Department of Statistics March 4, 2026. Fourth-quarter gas production fell 1.1 percent compared to the prior three-month period.

Malaysia exported MYR 13.6 billion ($3.38 billion) worth of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the October-December 2025 period, up sequentially, while importing MYR 1.6 billion worth of LNG, also up quarter-on-quarter, according to the Statistics Department.

Its annual crude oil and condensate production grew 1.1 percent from 2024 to 183.6 million barrels, with crude output falling in the fourth quarter sequentially.

Malaysia shipped MYR 6.1 billion worth of crude and condensates overseas in Q4, up sequentially. Refined products exports also increased to MYR 23.9 billion, the official data showed.

According to the Energy Institute's latest "Statistical Review of World Energy", Malaysia was Asia-Pacific's third-biggest gas producer (after China and Australia) and fourth-biggest oil producer (after China, India and Indonesia) in 2024.

Separately, Petronas denied any talks of supplying fuel to a local government in neighboring Philippines.

"Petronas' immediate focus is to ensure that reliable and continuous fuel supply is available for Malaysia", it said in another statement.

Last Monday the Philippine Energy Department said a combined 300,000 barrels of diesel were due to arrive from Malaysia and Singapore "early" this month.

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