Caltex Fuel Crunch Spreads to 5 Northern States. Here’s Where Pumps Could Run Dry
Caltex Malaysia has warned motorists in five northern peninsular states to brace for temporary shortages of RON95 petrol and diesel in the coming days, expanding a supply disruption that first hit the Klang Valley earlier in the week.
In a statement issued on 17 April, the company said service stations in Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Perak and Kelantan could face the disruption “in the next coming days”, citing unexpected delays at port that have thrown off its scheduled deliveries. No timeline was given for when normal supply would fully resume, though Caltex said the disruption is expected to last several days.
According to Free Malaysia Today, Shell Malaysia was affected by similar disruptions in previous weeks, with the company citing delayed deliveries and a peak in demand that caused a few petrol stations in Penang and the Klang Valley to suffer a shortfall of fuel.
The disruptions come as Malaysia’s downstream fuel sector absorbs pressure from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has largely shut off tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that normally carries about a fifth of global oil and LNG flows.
The Finance Ministry said this week that nearly 40% of Malaysia’s crude imports pass through the strait, and that crude oil prices have risen by almost 40% alongside higher shipping and insurance costs. Although Malaysia is itself an oil producer, domestic crude output cannot fully meet national demand, with Petronas supplying 48% of locally refined fuels and other oil companies the remaining 52%.
Fortunately, subsidised RON95 remains capped at RM1.99 per litre under the Budi Madani framework, insulating most motorists from the global price surge, though the Caltex and Shell disruptions suggest logistics, rather than pricing, may be the more immediate worry at the pump.
