KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's crude oil and condensate production rebounded to a 1.3 per cent growth, registering 46.1 million barrels in the second quarter of 2024 (2Q 2024), after two consecutive quarters on a declining trend, according to the Department of Statistics Department (DoSM).

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the improvement was attributable to the turnaround in crude oil, which grew by 0.1 per cent compared to a 5.8 per cent decline in 1Q 2024, while condensate expanded by 4.2 per cent compared to 14.0 per cent in the previous quarter.

Natural gas remained positive with an increase of 3.0 per cent (1Q 2024: 9.1 per cent), accounting for 696.8 billion cubic feet in 2Q 2024.

"The export value for crude oil and condensate recorded RM7.5 billion in the 2Q 2024, lower than RM9.1 billion 1Q 2024, with Thailand (29.7 per cent) remaining as the top destination, followed by Australia (26.8 per cent) and Brunei (12.7 per cent).

"The export value of refined petroleum products decreased to RM29.6 billion in 2Q 2024 compared to RM33.6 billion in the previous quarter, with Singapore continued to dominate as the leading country destination accounting for RM7.2 billion or 24.2 per cent, followed by Australia (14.9 per cent) and Indonesia (13.5 per cent)," said Mohd Uzir.

The chief statistician said that similarly, the exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) also registered a lower value of RM13.0 billion with a total of RM5.0 billion (38.3 per cent) of LNG exported to Japan, followed by China (32.8 per cent) and South Korea (14.1 per cent).

He said the import value of crude oil and condensate amounted to RM18.6 billion in the 2Q 2024 compared to RM15.7 billion in 1Q 2024, with Saudi Arabia continuing as the major country of origin for crude oil and condensate imports, comprising 40.5 per cent or RM7.5 billion in 2Q 2024, followed by the United Arab Emirates (22.5 per cent) and the United States (9.3 per cent).

Meanwhile, the import value of refined petroleum products was RM29.8 billion, lower than RM37.5 billion recorded in the preceding quarter, with Singapore contributing the highest value at RM11.2 billion (37.5 per cent), followed by South Korea (13.6 per cent) and China (10.6 per cent).

"LNG imports also registered a decrease in 2Q 2024 to RM2.2 billion (1Q 2024: RM2.8 billion).

"Australia remains as the top country of origin with an import value of RM1.8 billion or 82.1 per cent, followed by Mozambique (9.0 per cent) and the US (8.9 per cent)," he said.