By Yuka Obayashi
TOKYO, April 22 (Reuters) – Japan Petroleum Exploration said on Wednesday it plans to quadruple its oil and gas output over the next decade, investing 1.16 trillion yen ($7.3 billion) in exploration and production, mainly in the United States.
The company, which recently acquired Verdad Resources Intermediate Holdings for $1.3 billion in its largest-ever deal, will allocate more than half of its 1.1 trillion yen overseas E&P budget to the United States, President Michiro Yamashita said.
“We expect more than half of the investment to go to the U.S., including about 200 billion yen to develop Verdad’s assets, while also considering new acquisitions,” Yamashita said.
The remainder will be split roughly equally between Norway and Southeast Asia, with a focus on Indonesia, he said.
The importance of securing stable fossil fuel supplies for national security has been reaffirmed by the Iran crisis, Yamashita said, adding the latest strategy reflects a global shift toward a pragmatic approach that meets rising energy demand while advancing decarbonisation.
The new plan, however, does not factor in the impact of the Middle East crisis, Yamashita said.
Japex aims to raise net profit to 100 billion yen by fiscal 2035 from 45 billion yen in fiscal 2025 by investing a total of 1.5 trillion yen in growth areas over the next 10 years, focusing on E&P and its carbon capture, utilisation and storage business.
The company plans to boost oil and gas output to 180,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by fiscal 2035 from 45,000 boe/d now, and to store 1.5-2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually by fiscal 2031, targeting a cumulative total of 8 million tons or more by fiscal 2035.
Japex is also targeting to raise return on equity to 12% by fiscal 2035 from 6.7% in fiscal 2025.
($1 = 159.3300 yen)
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar and Kim Coghill)
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