Government fast-tracks biodiesel push to counter volatile oil market risks
KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 - Crude oil supply could take between three and 12 months to recover if the ongoing energy crisis persists, Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said today.
The economy minister added that the situation could worsen if there was damage to oil and gas infrastructure as time would be needed for repairs.
He also said that oil prices are likely to continue to fluctuate even though the volatility has begun to ease.
"Between April 20 and 24, the average global Brent crude spot price declined by 6.7 per cent to US$109.94 per barrel, compared with US$117.84 in the previous week.
Despite the weekly average decline, prices showed an upward trend over the same period. Brent crude opened at US$106.02 per barrel on Monday and rose to US$112.92 by market close on Friday, April 24, marking an overall increase of 6.5 per cent," he said in an online global supply crisis briefing.
He said that the upward momentum continued with the latest closing price on April 27 reaching US$113.34 per barrel, higher than the level on April 24, when markets closed last week.
The minister said the trend indicates that the global supply is still in crisis and could continue to affect a wide range of sectors, including oil and gas, petrochemicals, fertiliser production, food packaging, medical devices and construction materials.
He said the government will continue to monitor developments to enable early and proactive mitigation measures.
He said the government is also enhancing the implementation of biodiesel as a measure to extend energy supply, reduce reliance on imports and support local industry.
A high-level biofuels committee has been established to streamline and speed up the agenda.
Akmal said a recent visit to the Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) on April 24 focused on assessing its role in ensuring the stability of domestic fuel and petrochemical supply.
"The PIC has a refining capacity of 300,000 barrels per day and produces more than 3.3 million metric tonnes of petrochemicals annually, which are key raw materials for plastics, packaging and other essential goods," he added.
On food security, he said the government continues to prioritise fertiliser supply and agricultural inputs to safeguard food security, following a visit to a fertiliser manufacturing facility to assess challenges faced by the local industry, particularly uncertainties in raw material supply, rising logistics costs and pressure from input prices.
He said discussions with industry players focused on diversifying raw material sources, improving production efficiency and expanding capacity to meet domestic demand.
"The government is also placing emphasis on the production of bio-organic fertiliser as an alternative to conventional fertilisers. This approach is important to reduce reliance on imported inputs, extend fertiliser supply resilience, and support national food security at a time when the world is facing a global supply crisis.
This agenda can also be further expanded through a circular economy approach in line with the 13th Malaysia Plan" he added.
This, Akmal said, would reduce waste, create new industry opportunities and support more sustainable agriculture.
