Research Paper on Energy Profile of Malaysia

MALAYSIA ENERGY PROFILE
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Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u List of Figures PAGEREF _Toc3747736 \h 2List of Tables PAGEREF _Toc3747737 \h 2Abstract PAGEREF _Toc3747738 \h 3Introduction PAGEREF _Toc3747739 \h 4Malaysia Energy Trends PAGEREF _Toc3747740 \h 6Energy Patterns in Malaysia Since 1970s PAGEREF _Toc3747741 \h 6Energy Production in Malaysia PAGEREF _Toc3747742 \h 8Oil and Natural Gas Production Trends PAGEREF _Toc3747743 \h 9Energy Consumption in Malaysia PAGEREF _Toc3747744 \h 12Electricity in Malaysia PAGEREF _Toc3747745 \h 14Governance and Energy Politics in Malaysia PAGEREF _Toc3747746 \h 17Conclusion Recommendations PAGEREF _Toc3747747 \h 20
List of Figures
TOC \h \z \c "Figure" Figure 1. Malaysia energy consumption trends PAGEREF _Toc3747690 \h 7
Figure 2. The relationship between production and consumption of Oil and natural gas in Malaysia PAGEREF _Toc3747691 \h 9
Figure 3. Trends in electricity generation from Oil products PAGEREF _Toc3747692 \h 10
Figure 4. Energy Consumption Trends from 1980 to 2030 in Malaysia PAGEREF _Toc3747693 \h 11
Figure 5. Domestic consumption of energy in Malaysia PAGEREF _Toc3747694 \h 13
Figure 6. Electricity sales overview for 2015/2016 PAGEREF _Toc3747695 \h 15
Figure 7. Electricity supply by resources PAGEREF _Toc3747696 \h 16
List of Tables
TOC \h \z \c "Table" Table 1. Energy Production and Consumption in Malaysia PAGEREF _Toc3747698 \h 13
Abstract
Malaysia is one of the rapidly developing economies in Southeast Asia. Luckily, the country is endowed with natural resources that could play a significant role in achieving its goals while at the same time developing its economy. The country’s rich fossil fuels from crude oil and natural gas play a significant role in propelling it to realizing its economic goals in the next ten years. Energy plays a significant role in improving the country’s GDP while at the same time improving people’s standards of living. While economic development is essentially important in improving people’s lives and opening room for investment opportunities. One of the main concerns is how energy is generated and distributed. Clean generation and distribution of energy play a significant role in determining the country’s success in initiating and managing development programs. Carbon fuels have been linked to global warming and pollution, yet they still hold a significant percentage of the overall production of energy in Malaysia. This report provides a full country profile of Malaysia in the international level, a snapshot of the country’s profile as of 2018, the evolution of energy in the country for the past thirty years, and governance and politics of energy. It is anticipated that the report will help scholars or readers interested in the topic to get a snapshot view of the country at the international level and what the future holds.
Introduction
Malaysia is one of the growing economies in Southeast Asia. The last general election was held in May 2018, marking a new era in politics as the Barisan National Coalition ushered in new leadership after sixty-one years of power. With the emergence of changes in politics, it would be expected that the new leadership would come up with changes that would affect the energy sector, even as the country works towards sustainable development and clean energy resources. In Malaysia, the energy commission is responsible for regulating and monitoring the distribution of energy. According to Chong, Ni, Ma, Liu, and Li, Malaysia has been in the process of diversifying its energy resources in the past thirty years to focus on clean energy resources, even though fossil energy resources are the primary sources that sustain its energy development programs.[“Country Analysis Brief: Malaysia.” U.S Energy Information Administration, 2017.Ibid.,]
Energy plays a significant role in improving the country’s GDP while at the same time improving people’s standards of living. However, the generation and use of energy from natural resources may also have adverse effects on the community and the environment at large. In the recent past, there has been an international outcry on the demand and consumption of energy from natural resources which are said to be major players in climate change and global warming. While economic development is essentially important in improving people’s lives and opening room for investment opportunities. One of the main concern is how energy is generated and distributed. Clean generation and distribution of energy play a significant role in determining the country’s success in initiating and managing development programs. Carbon fuels have been linked to global warming and pollution, yet they still hold a significant percentage of the overall production of energy in emerging economies. The main issue is that burning of natural gas and fossil fuels releases twice as many carbon IV oxide gas that has been linked to the depletion of the ozone layer and the global warming at large. According to information from the World Bank, oil releases fifty percent of carbon IV oxide and natural gas releases double the amount.
Use of energy is important in improving people's standard of living. But electricity generation also can damage the environment. Whether such damage occurs depends largely on how electricity is generated. For example, burning coal releases twice as much carbon dioxide - a major contributor to global warming - as does burning an equivalent amount of natural gas. Anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions result primarily from fossil fuel combustion and cement manufacturing. In combustion different fossil fuels release different amounts of carbon dioxide for the same level of energy use: oil releases about 50 percent more carbon dioxide than natural gas, and coal releases about twice as much. Nuclear energy does not generate carbon dioxide emissions, but it produces other dangerous waste products.
The transport sector is one of the leading industries in Malaysia and is among the leading consumers of energy. According to the U.S energy information administration, Kuala Lumpur relies heavily on passenger vehicles due to poor railway transportation in the urban areas. Some of the limitations associated with the overreliance on passenger vehicles are the rise in pollution from automobiles that have been linked to interference with the carbon cycle. While there have been efforts in place to channel efforts towards renewable energy resources, the renewable energy sector has not made significant development, creating a barrier to the development programs. A key area of concern has on the possible interventions that could help the country realize its development goals while at the same time operating within the clean and effective developmental programs.
Malaysia Energy Trends
In Malaysia, energy production, marketing, distribution, and consumption have changed tremendously since the 1970s. The focus has been on the utilization of the natural fossil energy resources from oil and gas fields in the country. While there have been changes witnessed in the production and utilization of sustainable energy development, oil and gas resources have been monitored by the state-owned Petroleum Nasional Berhad since the 1970s. Historically, the national government controlled production and distribution of energy from natural resources until late 1994 when the government allowed the private sector to join the industry. Ever since significant changes have occurred in the sector, including the emergence of sustainability programs that maximize the production and distribution of power. For instance, Index Mundi reports that it was until 2001 that Malaysia started using hydropower in its energy sector, leading to diversification in energy resources. An independent analysis of the country’s energy profile in terms of production, marketing, and distribution provides an in-depth view of the future of energy in the country.[“Malaysia Energy Profile 2018.” Index Mundi, 2018. /malaysia/energy_profile.html.]
Energy Patterns in Malaysia Since the 1970s
Malaysia’s natural energy resources such as coal, oil, and natural gas are expected to decline each year as consumption increases. This is the main threat that has been facing the country of late as the major concern for the future of energy, and the country’s development programs are at stake. Power generation, marketing, and distribution play a significant role in Malaysia’s development programs. While it is true that development programs are initiated and maintained by the state-owned agencies in Malaysia, the private sector has also played a role in shaping energy demand and supply in Malaysia. A key focus in point is in the manner that the private sector and the government have worked together towards realizing developmental programs that resonate with the electricity demand and supply. When talking about energy, the focus has been on the generation and supply fossil energy from oil and natural gas. However, according to the U.S Energy Information Administration, Malaysia has faced a significant challenge in the depletion of its natural energy resources since 2005, making the government rethink the future of its energy resources. The table below shows how energy consumption in Malaysia has been changing over time.
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1. Malaysia energy consumption trends[Yatim et al. “Energy policy Shifts towards Sustainable Energy Futurefor Malaysia.” Clean Technology and Environmental Policy, (2016), 43Ibid.,]
From the graph above, it is evident that energy consumption has been rising significantly in the past few decades, creating pressure on the non-renewable energy resources in the country. Depletion of energy resources has forced the government to develop international energy interests and investment of offshore oil exploration programs. To strike a balance between the energy demand and supply, the private sector has opted to introduce some options such as the generation of energy from optional renewable energy sources such as power, hydro, and wind. Malaysia adapted the five-fuel diversification of energy policy in 1999 with the goal of reducing the mounting pressure that faced the non-renewable resources. The policy gave room for the private sector to join the production and distribution of power by allowing a share of 5.9%. The five-fuel diversification policy takes into consideration the solar, hydro, biomass, wind, and geothermal heat. This has enabled the country to focus on exploring the available energy resources offshore after the risks of depletion of the resources in the onshore environment.[]
Energy Production in Malaysia
Energy production determines the success of emerging economies. Countries with reach mineral resources tend to focus on international companies to exploit the resources and share a percentage of the available resources. This has not been, however, the case with Malaysia. Production and distribution on energy are mainly done under the ministry of energy with the energy commission playing an upper hand in determining who controls what and by what percentage. The production of clean energy resources has often been propelled by the need for environmental concern, even though the depletion of natural resources has been a major factor in this tremendous shift. When analyzing the production of energy, it is important that one starts with understanding the changes that have impacted this tremendous shift.
Oil and Natural Gas Production Trends
The production and usage of oil and natural gas in Malaysia has often occurred onshore due to the need for a significant volume of water required in the purification process. According to the Energy Facts in Malaysia, the country had nearly forty billion barrels of oil in the 1980s, but the resource has declined to nearly ten percent as of late 2003. This has impacted the country’s development programs even as the focus shifts on the renewable sources of energy. The graph below shows the competing relationship between production and consumption of oil and natural gas in Malaysia.[] []
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 2. The relationship between production and consumption of Oil and natural gas in Malaysia[]
It is evident from the graph that there is an unparalleled relationship between production and consumption, signifying an impending and inevitable energy crisis. While Malaysia is not the only country facing these challenges, one cannot ignore its impact on the country’s development future considering that energy resources play a crucial role in the growth of any economy. Malaysia’s major oil barrels are situated in the East of Sabah and Sarawak where about sixty-eight percent of the mining process takes place. According to the Energy Commission of Malaysia (EC), about 5.6 billion barrels of the overall oil reserves were in the Eastern region and that the resources were to be depleted in twenty-one years as of the year 2011. The daily production is seven hundred barrels a day with the ratio between production and consumption standing at 1:21, indicating a significant mismatch between the available energy and the demand for the resources.
Malaysia also generates electricity from oil products. According to data from the World Bank, the overall supply of electricity has been declining since 1971. The graph below shows changes that have been taking place in the industry.
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 3. Trends in electricity generation from Oil products[8. World Bank Data.]
According to the World Bank, oil resources used in the generation of electricity include crude oil, condensates, and natural gas and liquids. From the figure above, it is evident that natural oil has been declining significantly in the recent past, creating a need for consideration for the future of clean energy resources. According to the Malaysian energy commission, the country’s economy is likely to grow significantly in the next ten years, even as the economy of the country surged. One key area of concern related to the economic growth and development is how the resources are likely to be exploited while at the same time taking into consideration the country’s development programs.
Natural gas has also been in decline demand in the recent past, even as the gove...