Terengganu

Terengganu anchors Malaysia's east coast oil and gas industry. Esso's 1974 gas discoveries rapidly made the state a major producer, while the Kerteh petrochemical complex links the entire oil and gas value chain—offshore platforms, crude refining, and petrochemical production. The state targets RM26 billion in private investment by 2025, projected to create 36,600 jobs.

The East Coast Energy 2025 summit (June 24-25, Kuala Terengganu) signaled strategic evolution. Over 900 delegates—policymakers, energy leaders, investors, technologists—gathered to discuss energy transition, carbon capture and storage (CCUS), and renewable expansion. Terengganu Inc. explicitly positions the state as a 'hub for clean energy investment and innovation.'

This transition imperative reflects hydrocarbon reality. Malaysia's oil and gas sector faces constant expectations despite diminishing returns as mature fields decline. The ECRL, reaching Terengganu stations by 2027, promises improved connectivity but also intensifies competition for investment. The state must evolve from pure extraction toward value-added processing and eventually post-carbon industries.

The Petronas Petrochemical Integrated Complex (PPIC) at Kerteh represents current downstream capacity, but CCUS development and renewable projects define the future trajectory. The biological pattern is familiar: energy-extraction economies must either metamorphose or face obsolescence as resources deplete and carbon constraints tighten. Terengganu's 2025 positioning suggests awareness of this evolutionary pressure.