Malaysia Crude Oil Import 2026 Market Overview & Trends

Malaysia's import value for crude oil shows a strong upward trend, peaking at $13.88 billion in 2024. Following a dip in 2021, the market experienced substantial growth, with both value and quantity more than doubling between 2021 and 2022. This indicates a robust recovery and increasing domestic demand over the five-year period.

In 2024, Saudi Arabia emerged as the leading supplier, contributing $5.63 billion in export value. The United Arab Emirates followed significantly with $2.99 billion. Together with Qatar, Middle Eastern partners represent the core of the supply chain, while the United States and Gabon provide additional diversification in the import mix.

Among emerging partners, Qatar leads with the highest growth rate of 2.45, followed by Cameroon at 1.89 and Brazil at 1.59. These figures indicate shifting trade dynamics, where Malaysia is successfully diversifying its sourcing strategy by strengthening ties with emerging suppliers across different geographic regions, including Africa and South America.

The primary product driving the sector is petroleum crude oil (HSCode 270900), which reached a total import value of $13.88 billion in 2024. This specific category remains the cornerstone of the energy import market, representing the vast majority of the sector's total trade value for the year.