High international oil prices and Malaysia's increasing crude oil import levels have put pressure on government expenditures. As part of Malaysia's goal to lower the government's budget deficit and lift some of the financial burden on Petronas to allow the company to invest more upstream, the government began introducing subsidy reforms. In July 2010, the government initiated the first subsidy reductions for gasoline, diesel, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) with the aim of phasing out fuel subsidies by 2015.