Step 1: Acquisition of License Blocks
- Collect extensive information on areas in which oil and natural gas are expected to exist.
- Conduct preliminary assessments of the site including technical evaluations using documented materials publicly and commercially available, and evaluations of legal, political and economic stability in the area.
- Apply and bid for concession rights and/or working interests.
- Conclude contracts for the license blocks.
Step 2: Exploration
- Collect basic information on potential subsurface accumulations of oil and natural gas using terrestrial geological surveys, aerial photographs, satellite images and other available data in and around the licensed blocks.
- Conduct geophysical surveys, which include gravity, magnetic and seismic surveys, to determine prospects of oil and natural gas accumulations.
- Set locations for exploration wells in the prospects and drill wells to confirm the presence of the oil and gas fields.
Step 3: Appraisal
- Drill appraisal wells to evaluate the extent of the discovered oil and gas fields.
- Analyze subsurface information derived from well and geophysical surveys to confirm lateral continuity of oil and gas reservoirs and to estimate reserves (volume of oil and gas).
- Fully evaluate the commercial viability of developing the fields.
Step 4: Development and Production
- Create development plans for oil and gas fields.
- Drill production wells to recover oil and natural gas.
- Construct processing facilities for separating oil and gas, and removing impurities. Construct facilities to transport oil and gas.
- Produce oil and gas.
Step 5: Refining, Transport and Sales
Crude Oil
- Crude oil produced in Japan is transported in tank trucks to the Group’s refineries, where it is converted into gasoline, naphtha, kerosene, gas oil, fuel oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is sold and shipped to customers via oil tankers and tank trucks.
- Crude oil produced outside Japan is sold and transported to customers on oil tankers or via pipeline, to refineries or trade companies for refining, to power companies for use in thermal power plants, and to petrochemical companies for manufacturing of chemical products.
- Domestic natural gas is sold to municipal gas companies and large factories via pipelines.
- Natural gas produced overseas is sold primarily to power and municipal gas companies in Japan as liquefied natural gas (LNG, composed mostly of methane) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG, composed mostly of propane and butane), or to the gas-producing countries and their neighbors via pipelines.
