Cambodia turns to Singapore, Malaysia for fuel amid Vietnam, China shortfalls

PHNOM PENH, Mar 19, 2026 (KPT) — Cambodia is stepping up fuel imports from Singapore and Malaysia to offset supply shortfalls from Vietnam and China, Energy Minister Keo Rottanak told Reuters Wednesday, as the U.S.–Israeli war on Iran tightens global supply.

About a third of Cambodia’s 6,300 petrol stations closed last week due to price uncertainty, but only 5.77 percent remain shut, Rottanak said.

Vietnam and China have restricted exports until at least the end of March to safeguard domestic supply, while Cambodia and Thailand halted trade after conflict erupted in July.

Thailand and Vietnam together accounted for more than 60 percent of Cambodia’s petroleum imports in 2024, with Singapore and Malaysia supplying nearly a third and China about 7 percent, according to UN trade data.

Rottanak said global partners including Total and Chevron were helping mitigate risks, while preliminary talks with Australia’s Woodside Energy aim to secure LNG for a 900 megawatt power plant due next year.

Gasoline and diesel shipments from Singapore and Malaysia in the first 18 days of March were 25 percent higher than a year earlier, though down 40 percent from late February, Kpler data showed.

Cambodia, which has no refinery, typically holds less than a month’s supply of fuel under normal conditions.

Rottanak said renewable energy expansion has partly shielded the country from shocks, but warned of vulnerabilities.

“Situations like this should remind all of us that an ASEAN power grid is the way to go. We would be much, much more resilient than we are today,” he said.