LOC12:37
09:37 GMT
TOKYO, Dec 23 (KUNA) -- Major Japanese energy developers will participate
in an oil exploration project in the Arctic for the first time, a leading
business daily here reported Monday.
Japan's largest oil explorer Inpex Corp. and the upstream subsidiary of the
country's top oil firm JX Holdings have set up a joint venture with three
other energy developers, including the government-affiliated Japan Oil, Gas
and Metals National Corp. (Jogmec), the Nikkei Shimbun said.
The venture won two exploration blocks in Greenland jointly with US oil
giant Chevron, Anglo-Dutch oil major Royal Dutch Shell and a local company
from the local government through a bidding process, the newspaper said.
Resource-poor Japan imports almost all of its oil, about 80 percent of
which comes from the volatile Middle East. Diversifying supply sources is a
major issue facing the nation, and the discovery of a large oil field in the
Arctic would help ensure stable supplies for Japan and boost the nation's
energy security, the report said.
About 20 percent of the 1.64 trillion barrels in global oil reserves lie in
the Arctic, but those deposits remain untapped due to various challenges
arising from its difficult terrain, it added. (end)
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KUNA 231237 Dec 13NNNN