Petronas wants to lower its reserve replenishment ratio from 2.5 to 1.1, the company's chief executive said in an interview with The Edge weekly newspaper.
Asked about Petronas' ratio of 2.5 times, Shamsul Azhar Abbas said it was either because the firm was not developing resources fast enough or was going after the "wrong prospects".
He said the ideal ratio for Petronas was "one-to one minimum".
"One-to-one minimum, you produce one you replace it with one," Shamsul was quoted as saying. "We have mature basins but some of the wells have been explored before; this is the second and third round of exploration."
Shamsul said depletion of Petronas' oil and gas resources was due to its conventional approach to resource development.
"We have to look for new play types. There are risks involved but they could be worth it."
Since his appointment as chief executive last year, Shamsul has led a push to boost productivity from Malaysia's marginal fields and go into deep water projects. Oil majors have so far pledged $4.9 billion.
Its most recent acquisition was the $1.09 billion purchase of a half-stake in Canadian shale gas assets, which will boost its supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from unconventional sources.
