Malaysia Petroleum Management
Unlocking Malaysia’s Advantaged Barrels: PETRONAS Champions Strategic Growth at Asia Pacific Energy Capital Assembly (APAC) 2025
The APAC 2025, hosted in Singapore, brought together over 400 C-level executives and 60+ expert speakers from across the energy value chain. The event served as a pivotal platform for driving innovation, collaboration, and impactful change in the energy sector, with a strong focus on energy security, sustainable growth, and financial innovation.
PETRONAS, through Malaysia Petroleum Management (MPM) reaffirmed its leadership in the region by championing the development of Malaysia’s advantaged barrels; resources that are economically viable, technically accessible, and aligned with sustainability goals. Through Malaysia Petroleum Management, we oversee the management and development of Malaysia’s oil and gas resources and upstream petroleum industry as mandated under the Petroleum Development Act 1974. This unique position enables PETRONAS to ensure cost-optimised, safe, and reliable operations while advancing its Net Zero Carbon Emissions (NZCE) 2050 pathway.
Malaysia Country Session at APAC 2025: Azmir Highlights PETRONAS’s Upstream Momentum
During the Malaysia Country Session at APAC 2025, Azmir Zamri, Senior General Manager of Resource Exploration MPM, delivered a compelling presentation that underscored PETRONAS’s strategic direction in unlocking Malaysia’s advantaged barrels and redefining the potential of its mature and frontier basins.
Azmir spotlighted several key milestones in 2024:
- RM50 billion in upstream investment, the highest since PETRONAS’s inception.
- 14 PSCs awarded, including 3 Exploration PSCs and 11 Discovered Resource Opportunity (DRO) clusters.
- Production peaks of 2,000 kboe/d on strong-performing days.
Looking ahead to 2025, PETRONAS is targeting RM60 billion in upstream investment, reinforcing its commitment to long-term energy security and economic contribution. He noted that PETRONAS myPROdata continues to be a key enabler in providing transparent and accessible data to potential investors, supporting informed decision-making and accelerating evaluation cycles.
Malaysia is currently producing approximately 2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (mmboe/d) from three (3) mature basins. In line with its aspiration to unlock more advantaged barrels, PETRONAS MPM is undertaking Artificial Intelligence - Machine Learning initiatives with multiple technology partners to redefine these mature basins. Concurrently, PETRONAS MPM aspires to activate five (5) frontier basins across Malaysia. A key enabler for this strategy is the expansion of 3D seismic acreage from the current 5% to 50% by 2030. To support this ambition, PETRONAS MPM is investing RM500 million annually, translating into 10,000 to 12,000 square kilometres of new 3D seismic data every year. This data is made available free-of-charge to potential investors, underscoring PETRONAS MPM’s commitment to accelerating basin activation and attracting partnerships for the discovery of more advantaged barrels.
The session concluded with a strong emphasis on PETRONAS’s continued collaboration with government representatives, reaffirming the company’s commitment to inclusive development and strategic regional alignment in upstream activities.
Panel Insights: Navigating Transformation: Strategic Solutions for APAC’s Leading Exploration & Production (E&P)
At the APAC 2025 panel session, Nurunnajwa Mohd Aras, Senior General Manager, Resource Development & Management MPM represented PETRONAS with a forward-looking perspective on how National Oil Companies (NOCs) are evolving to meet the dual challenge of energy security and sustainability.
Other panellists from Pertamina, TIMOR GAP, MedcoEnergi and TotalEnergies echoed similar themes, including:
- The need for capital discipline and portfolio resilience in a volatile market.
- The importance of collaborative innovation across the value chain to accelerate decarbonisation.
- Strategies for and aligning with national energy transition roadmaps.
Together, the panel offered a comprehensive view of how E&P leaders are rethinking business models, investing in cleaner technologies and building future-ready workforces.
Nurunnajwa emphasised PETRONAS’ strategic evolution through its regulatory arm MPM, in navigating the dual imperatives of energy security and sustainability. She highlighted MPM’s role in driving predictive maintenance strategies to extend asset life in mature basins, fostering digital upskilling through academic partnerships to future-proof the workforce, and enabling hybrid energy strategies that integrate renewables with hydrocarbons.
Award-Winning Excellence
PETRONAS’ presence at the APAC 2025 Awards Dinner was a standout moment, reinforcing its stature as a leading energy player in the region. PETRONAS was honoured with the “NOC Partnership Excellence Award”, a recognition that celebrates its consistent strong track record of working closely with partners and delivering impactful results across Asia Pacific. This win marks the third consecutive year PETRONAS has been honoured by the Energy Council, following its 'NOC of the Year' awards in 2023 and 2024. During the awards dinner, Nurunnajwa received the prestigious NOC Partnership Excellence Award on behalf of PETRONAS, marking a significant recognition of the company’s collaborative efforts and industry leadership.
The recognition reflects PETRONAS’s continued commitment in fostering strategic partnerships that go beyond business, building a
