Sarawak
Controls 60% of Malaysia's gas reserves with Petros autonomy established March 2025; pursuing RM300B Gas Roadmap investment.
Sarawak controls approximately 40% of Malaysia's oil reserves and 60% of its natural gas—hydrocarbon wealth that transformed a former Brooke-family kingdom into one of Malaysia's five high-income states (GNI per capita RM77,997). The Bintulu LNG complex processes gas from offshore fields, while Petronas operations in Miri and Bintulu anchor the state's energy economy.
The year 2025 marked a decisive power shift. Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (Petros) was recognized as the sole gas aggregator by March 2025, ending Petronas's monopoly on state gas distribution. All gas produced must now be sold first to Petros. This autonomy push reflects long-standing federal-state tensions over resource revenue sharing—Sarawak has received RM96 billion in petroleum benefits over 50 years, but seeks greater control.
The 10-year Gas Roadmap establishes strategic hubs at Kuching, Bintulu, Samalaju, and Miri, projecting RM300 billion in investment and RM120 billion in annual output at full scale. New projects include Shell's Timi field (300 MMcf/day at peak, commercial production 2025) and SapuraOMV's Jerun field (550 MMcf/day by 2030).
Yet Sarawak explicitly plans beyond upstream extraction. The state seeks downstream integration, positioning as a marine and offshore hub while developing carbon capture capabilities. Manufacturing output rises with increased LNG production. Tourism contributes with 4.8 million visitor arrivals in 2024. The biological pattern is metabolic diversification: a resource-extraction economy attempting to evolve more complex processing capabilities before reserves deplete.