Production of crude oil, condensate up 0.9% in 4Q, export value rises to RM9.3bil – DoSM

PUTRAJAYA: The production of crude oil and condensate went up 0.9 per cent to 49.1 million barrels in the fourth quarter of 2023, backed by a surge in condensate, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

It said there was a 23.8 per cent surge in condensate production after registering 16.2 per cent growth in the previous quarter.

Natural gas rebounded to 4.7 per cent growth from negative 2.1 per cent in the previous quarter, recording a production value of 774.2 billion cubic feet in the fourth quarter.

“The export value of crude petroleum and condensate increased to RM9.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023 versus RM7.8 billion recorded in the third quarter, with Thailand being the major export destination, followed by Australia and Brunei,” chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said in a statement.

The export value for refined petroleum products totalled RM33.7 billion (Q3 2023: RM31.0 billion) with RM 7.8 billion or 23.2 per cent of exports to Singapore, followed by Indonesia (15.0 per cent) and Australia (12.8 per cent).

The export value for liquefied natural gas reached RM16.6 billion in the fourth quarter (Q3 2023: RM12.5 billion) with RM6.9 billion (43.1 per cent) worth of exports to Japan, followed by China (25.9 per cent) and South Korea (22.4 per cent).

Mohd Uzir said the import value of crude petroleum and condensate amounted to RM18.1 billion during the fourth quarter against the RM12.5 billion registered in the previous quarter with more than half, or 51.1 per cent imported from Saudi Arabia with a value of RM9.3 billion, followed by the United Arab Emirates (18.9 per cent) and the United States (5.3 per cent).

“Overall in 2023, the production of crude oil and condensate declined slightly by 0.1 per cent, totalling 188.8 million barrels (2022: -3.3 per cent; 189.1 million barrels).

“The decline in annual production was primarily due to a decrease of 6.1 per cent in crude oil, which had been trending downward since 2017,” he said. – BK