is a

hydrocarbon exploration Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth's crust using petroleum geology. Exploration methods ...

, production, and transportation company. JAPEX explores and produces

crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring u ...

, natural gas, and

liquefied natural gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volume o ...

reserves worldwide. JAPEX has proven reserves of 272 million barrels in Japan and the rest of the world. Aside from operations in

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

, Akita, Yamagata and Niigata in Japan, JAPEX has major operations in Canada, Indonesia and

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. Currently publicly traded under the ticker TSE: 1662. The

Government of Japan The Government of Japan is the central government of Japan. It consists of legislative, executive (government), executive and judiciary branches and functions under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan. Japan is a unitary st ...

owns a 34% stake in JAPEX.Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd. Company Profile
/ref>

History

JAPEX was founded in 1955 as a government-owned company in order to seek petroleum self-sufficiency for Japan. Between 1958 and 1968, JAPEX discovered 10

oil fields A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presen ...

within Japan. In 1965, JAPEX's operational range began to go overseas and in 1967, JAPEX was incorporated into the government-owned Japan Petroleum Development Corporation (JPDC) and in 1968 JAPEX signed an agreement with the Government of Sabah North Borneo to the exploration of oil and gas for the first 10 years of the agreement. On 1 April, In 1970, JAPEX was separated from the JPDC and reorganized as a privately owned company.JAPEX History and Information
/ref> In 1971, Japex Offshore Ltd. was created, spurring international and offshore exploration and production. In 1978, Japan Canada Oil Sands Limited (JACOS) was established. From 1980 to 2006, JAPEX would establish Japex U.S. Corps, Japex New Nanhai Ltd., Japex Pipeline Ltd., Shirone Gas Corp. Ltd., Japex Libya Ltd., Japex Block A Ltd., Japex Philippines Ltd. and Japex Buton Ltd. Between 1985 and 2005, JAPEX opened offices in Beijing, London,

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

and

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

as well.

Operations

JAPEX's exploration and production operations in Japan primarily center on Niigata, Akita, and

. Overseas, JAPEX is focused on Southeast Asia, Canada, North Africa, the Middle East, and

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...

in Russia. In 2007, JAPEX produced 132 thousand barrels of oil equivalent a day; 100 thousand overseas and 32 thousand domestically. Domestically, JAPEX conducts exploration and production near existing reserves while also exploring other areas of Japan. JAPEX is also working on systems to supply more natural gas and

to a broader base of customers in Japan. JAPEX is currently extending and upgrading an already 826 km natural gas pipeline. Overseas, JAPEX works to acquire the rights to already discovered oilfields and to acquire exploration rights in order to find additional oil reserves. JAPEX is involved in projects within the United States, Russia ( Sakhalin Islands),

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, Canada,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, Libya and had negotiated for

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

's oil reserves as well.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Japex Oil companies of Japan Non-renewable resource companies established in 1955 Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Government-owned companies of Japan Japanese companies established in 1955