Japan makes gas find

摘要

JAPAN has made a rare offshore gas discovery with an exploration well in the Hokkaido region off the north-east coast. The operator, Japan Petroleum Exploration (Japex), said the well is 50 kilometres off the coast of Hidaka in a water depth of 1070 metres. It was spudded on 13 April 2019 and was drilled to a depth of 2530 metres using the semi-submersible Ensco 8504. Japex said there were indications of natural gas, and a production test achieved "stable gas production". "Japex will conduct analysis and evaluation of the data obtained this time, and will further consider the possibility of exploration opportunity in this area," the company said.