Malaysia is one of Southeast Asia’s largest hydrocarbons producers and ranks among the world’s leading LNG exporters. In recent years, new technologies have opened opportunities in more technically demanding offshore plays across the country’s main producing basins, and the government has long prioritised the development of maturing and marginal fields alongside continued exploration to address declining output.

The sector is led by Petronas, which holds exclusive ownership rights to all E&P activities. The Petroleum Management Unit acts as the upstream regulator, awarding and overseeing production sharing licences. Malaysia has also attracted international upstream players, including ExxonMobil, Shell, ConocoPhillips, Repsol and JX Nippon Oil & Gas.

Malaysia is one of the world’s major gas producers and exporters. Petronas dominates gas production, while Shell is a significant producer alongside ExxonMobil, Thailand’s PTTEP and Indonesia’s Pertamina. Domestically produced gas is consumed mainly by the industrial sector and power generation, which together account for nearly all demand.

Malaysia has an extensive gas pipeline system. LNG exports come primarily from the country’s liquefaction facilities, while regasification terminals support imports and domestic supply balancing. Most LNG exports go to the Asia-Pacific region, with Japan and China among the main buyers, and Malaysia also supplies Singapore through pipeline-linked infrastructure.

Malaysia’s oil pipeline network is limited, and crude and products are transported mainly by tankers and road. The country has launched projects to expand oil storage capacity, positioning itself as a regional alternative amid storage constraints in Southeast Asia, particularly Singapore. Continued investment in refining has enabled Malaysia to generally meet domestic demand, and the country is now looking to expand refining capacity further to serve regional markets and strengthen export potential.

Malaysia has set ambitious renewables targets under its National Energy Transition Roadmap, aiming for 31% renewable capacity by 2025 and 40% by 2035. The country is also targeting 70% renewable capacity by 2050, supported by large-scale solar programmes and wider power sector reforms.

Kazakhstan holds an estimated 30 billion barrels of oil reserves, along with 1.1 tcm (38.8 tcf) of natural gas. It is among the top 15 countries based on the size of its oil reserves. The majority of Kazakhstan’s hydrocarbons reserves are located in the regions of Kashagan, Tengiz and Karachaganak.

To reach its potential as a global energy player, Kazakhstan is working to maintain a fine balance between the economic interests of its two powerful neighbours, Russia and China. Chinese energy demand continues to surge upwards and will consume Kazakhstan’s robust hydrocarbons output for the foreseeable future.

Brunei’s oil and gas sector has come a long way since the first commercial oil discovery in 1929. The production of hydrocarbons now accounts for around half of the nation’s GDP. The energy industry is overseen by the Petroleum Authority of Brunei Darussalam, which hands out PSCs and ensures participants adhere to policies set down by the state.

Brunei Shell Petroleum is the largest oil producer in the country, accounting for around 90% of oil and gas revenues. A 50:50 joint venture between super-major Shell and the government of Brunei, the integrated energy company BSP has been active in the country since 1929. The country’s key refining facility is the 175,000-bpd Hengyi complex.

New extracting technologies have made the country’s mature fields and deepwater ventures economically viable, and the state is focused on attracting new players into its oil and gas ecosystem. The country’s downstream sector has become equally vibrant with facilities producing LNG, methanol and other petrochemicals. The government has focused on building its petrochemicals capacity as it aims to up production and maximise on the economic potential of its remaining reserves.

Brunei’s decarbonisation agenda is increasingly shaped by its National Climate Change Policy, which sets 10 strategic pillars to 2035, including industrial emissions reduction, renewable energy deployment and power management. The country has also set targets to expand solar PV capacity and raise the share of renewables in its power generation mix, while assessing options such as carbon capture and storage and hydrogen to decarbonise hard-to-abate segments of the economy.

The lack of resources in the ground might initially suggest a country with a fairly stagnant hydrocarbons industry, but Singapore is anything but. A major trading centre and a hub for oilfield technology, the city-state plays a pivotal role in the Southeast Asian energy landscape.

Due to its favourable tax regime, strategic location, transportation infrastructure and stable political climate, Singapore has come to serve as a base for oil and gas companies involved in exploration and production activities in Southeast Asia. The diminutive city-state has become a magnet for international oil companies.

India is one of the world’s most populous and rapidly growing countries, and the energy industry is a major contributor to the country’s economic and social development, underpinning industrial and manufacturing growth, and rising demand for power and transportation.

The country is highly dependent on oil imports, which are expected to remain structurally significant over the long term despite the reinforcement of domestic exploration and production efforts to boost internal oil and gas supply and enhance energy security. Policy reforms have aimed to simplify licensing regimes and improve investment incentives through updated pricing mechanisms, fiscal advantages and the easing of constraints on foreign asset ownership in the upstream and downstream value chains.

India’s hydrocarbon resources are concentrated in its western and offshore basins, with Mumbai’s offshore and the onshore areas of Gujarat, Rajasthan and the Assam–Arakan basin being long-established producing regions. Many of the country’s producing assets are mature, and natural decline rates have prompted emphasis on EOR, redevelopment and advanced reservoir management techniques.

The upstream sector is led by the state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), which accounts for roughly 70% of output. Oil India Limited, also state-owned, and a number of private domestic companies account for much of the balance. Through policy reforms and investment incentives, India seeks to encourage private and foreign participation in the sector to increase exploration and technology deployment.

Downstream infrastructure has expanded steadily to support rising demand for refined products and oil imports. India is now one of the world’s largest refining hubs, with a mix of state-owned and private operators supplying both domestic and export markets.

Natural gas has become an increasingly important focus of India’s energy strategy, with policy objectives aimed at raising gas’s share in the national energy mix over the medium term. New regasification terminals along India’s eastern and western coastlines are expanding LNG import capacity, and investments in cross-country pipelines and regional distribution networks are improving access for industrial users, power utilities and distribution companies.

India’s renewables sector is expanding rapidly in alignment with energy transition objectives. Total installed generation capacity reached approximately 220 GW in 2025, with solar accounting for around 100 GW. National energy and climate commitments call for up to 500 GW of non-fossil fuel electricity capacity by 2030 to enhance energy security and reduce carbon intensity.

Indonesia’s oil and gas sector has long been a key driver of the country’s economic development. Commercial production began in the late 19th century, with early discoveries in North Sumatra helping to lay the foundations for the modern industry. Hydrocarbons production remains an important contributor to the economy, even as Indonesia’s mature fields decline and domestic consumption continues to rise, increasing pressure on the country’s energy balance. Despite being Southeast Asia’s largest economy, Indonesia has faced recurring challenges in attracting foreign investment into upstream projects, driven by regulatory complexity, shifting fiscal terms and perceptions of policy risk.

Indonesia’s upstream and gas activities are overseen by SKK Migas, which has set out a roadmap aimed at improving project delivery, restoring production and accelerating exploration. State-owned Pertamina remains the dominant upstream player, while international companies continue to participate through production sharing contracts and partnerships. Much of Indonesia’s remaining gas potential sits offshore, often in frontier basins and remote provinces, requiring significant investment in infrastructure to bring volumes to market. The government has also promoted unconventional resources such as coalbed methane and shale gas as part of a broader push to strengthen domestic supply.

Indonesia remains an important LNG exporter, although its role has evolved over time. In the 1990s, it was one of the world’s leading suppliers, but it has since been overtaken by major exporters such as Qatar, Australia and the USA. Even so, Indonesia continues to supply regional markets, with Japan, South Korea and China among its key buyers, while also managing the growing domestic call on gas for power generation and industry.

Alongside the upstream, Indonesia is seeking investment in midstream and downstream infrastructure. While the country has multiple refineries, capacity and configuration constraints mean domestic production does not fully meet demand, leaving Indonesia reliant on imports for a portion of its fuel needs. Pertamina owns and operates most refining assets and is pursuing upgrades to improve efficiency and product quality. With no cross-border oil pipelines, maritime transport remains central to the energy value chain. In gas, state-controlled Perusahaan Gas Negara plays a leading role in transportation and distribution and operates much of the country’s pipeline infrastructure.

Russia is consistently among the world’s top three producers of hydrocarbons and holds the largest proven natural gas reserves globally. It is also a major LNG exporter, although sanctions and technology restrictions have slowed the expansion of several flagship Arctic LNG projects and tempered growth ambitions.

Hydrocarbons continue to play a central role in Russia’s public finances, but their contribution to the federal budget is lower and more volatile than it once was. In recent years, oil and gas revenues have generally accounted for around a third of federal budget income, fluctuating with prices, taxation changes and export volumes. Even as the economy has adapted to sanctions, the oil and gas sector remains a key source of hard-currency earnings and a cornerstone of state spending.

Domestic firms dominate Russia’s upstream sector, with Rosneft, Lukoil, Gazprom and Novatek among the largest players.  Much of the country’s production base consists of mature fields, particularly in western Siberia, which has historically been the heart of the country’s oil industry. As a result, companies have focused heavily on brownfield optimisation, enhanced recovery and infrastructure upgrades, while pushing into more complex resources that were previously constrained by cost or technology. New growth areas include eastern Siberia and the Arctic, where gas projects and LNG developments have been central to the long-term strategy, even as project timelines have been disrupted by restrictions on equipment, finance and shipping.

Russia has extensive midstream infrastructure, including one of the world’s largest crude pipeline systems. The Druzhba pipeline network has historically been a key export route to Europe, but the structure of the country’s energy trade has shifted dramatically since the war in Ukraine. Pipeline gas exports to Europe have fallen to their lowest levels in decades, and crude and product flows have increasingly been redirected to non-OECD markets.

To sustain exports under sanctions, Russia has accelerated its pivot to Asia, expanding seaborne crude flows and reinforcing pipeline links to China. China has remained the single largest buyer of Russian oil, and Russian gas deliveries to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline have continued to grow as Moscow works to replace lost European market share with long-term Asian demand.

China boasts the second largest economy and largest population in the world. In addition, the country occupies the top spot in crude oil imports and the fourth spot in production figures, making it a central figure in the global energy markets. Three national oil companies in China, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec Corporation) and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), account for the lion’s share of upstream and downstream oil and gas activity in the country.

Currently, China is undergoing a shift in focus from a country with economic drivers based in manufacturing and heavy industries to one based in services and domestic consumption. Adding to the nation’s economic shift, the Chinese government is determined to curb environmental pollution by switching its heavy reliance on coal burning to cleaner energy sources such as natural gas.