Oil and Gas activity in Malaysia

Malaysia is a country rich in natural resources including minerals, agriculture and, of course, petroleum. The Malaysian petroleum industry overtook the tin industry in the 1970’s as the country’s greatest resource. It was reported in 2008 that the country had proven oil reserves of 5.357 billion barrels and currently produces about 750,200 barrels of oil and 5 billion cubic feet of gas per day.

Petronas is Malaysia's wholly state-owned oil and gas enterprise. The company has exclusive rights of ownership, exploration and production within the Malaysian oil and gas industry. Since its creation Petronas has become a competitive oil and gas operator in its own right, ranking within the Fortune 500 largest organisations in the world. The company comes under the direct purview of the Prime Minister who is responsible for the planning, investment and regulation of all its up-stream activities.

Whilst Malaysia holds significant oil reserves, they are in decline and so Petronas has increasingly invested in exploration activities outside of the country. This scope of activity includes projects in Syria, Turkmenistan, Iran, Pakistan, China, Vietnam, Burma, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, the Sudan and Angola

Upstream Facts

• Malaysia's continental shelf is divided into three main regions; Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and Sabah,of which have 6 sedimentary basins.
• Malaysia's domestic oil production occurs offshore and primarily near Peninsular Malaysia.
• Petroleum and natural gas discoveries within Malaysia have largely occurred off Sabah, Sarawak and Terengganu.
• To date, exploration activities in the continental shelf (offshore from Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia) have resulted in discoveries of 140 oil fields and 182 gas fields.
• Malaysia has approximately 565,555 square kilometres of acreage available for oil and gas exploration
• Most of the country's oil fields contain low sulfur, high quality crude.

Downstream Facts

• Malaysia currently operates six oil refineries within the country, with a total capacity of 514,500 barrels per day.
• Malaysia is one of the world’s leading exporters of LNG, and according to the 2008 BP Statistical Energy Survey, had 2007 proved natural gas reserves of 2.47 trillion cubic metres - 1.39% of the world total.
• Customers for Malaysia’s oil include Japan, Thailand, South Korea and Singapore.

Working in Malaysia

Entry Requirements

• Passport
• Visa – select from three types; Singly Entry, Multiple Entry, or Transit
• Return Ticket & Sufficient Funds (Visitors Only)
• Complete arrival Departure Card

For more information, see http://www.kln.gov.my/?m_id=53

Passes

Employment passes are a requirement for Australians wishing to work in Malaysia. The process of obtaining a pass begins with an employer applying to the Immigration Department for permission to employ the expatriate. Once the pass is granted the individual can have their passport endorsed with an employment pass. The pass is limited to the particular employer who applied for the pass and is not considered a general right to work. The employee’s spouse and their dependents have the same rights as the employee holding the employment pass and can travel to and from Malaysia during the term of employment.
 

Malaysian Taxation 

• Income is taxed on a sliding scale
• Top tax rate is 28%
• Stamp duty on property is between 1.5 and 1.75%
• Capital Gains tax is between 0% and 30% depending on how long the property is held before reselling.