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Domestic Natural Gas Overview | |
Producing: Total oil and gas fields (FY 2016 average) |
Natural gas: Approx. 132 MMcfd Crude oil and condensate: Approx. 3 Mbbld |
Natural gas sales (FY 2016) | Approx. 1.91 billion m³ |
Minami-Nagaoka Gas Field, which was discovered in 1979, is one of Japan’s largest natural gas fields and the driving force behind INPEX's upstream business in Japan. Production of natural gas began at the gas field in1984. After processing, the natural gas is transported through a trunk pipeline network stretching approximately 1,500km across the Kanto, Koshinetsu and Hokuriku regions and sold to customers including city gas companies and large-scale plants situated along this network.
INPEX has experienced a steady growth in natural gas sales due to its efforts to expand its supply infrastructure, as well as the highly environmentally friendly attributes of natural gas. Natural gas is expected to be used in a wide variety of applications, such as fuel for onsite power generation and co-generation, as well as a raw material for chemical products. INPEX is targeting annual sales of 2.5 billion m³ by the early 2020s and as much as 3.0 billion m³ over the long term. In October 2016, INPEX commenced full operations of the Toyama Line, a natural gas trunk pipeline stretching from Itoigawa City, Niigata Prefecture, to Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture, that had been under construction since 2012.
At the Naruto Gas Field in Chiba Prefecture, natural gas is being produced from water-soluble gas fields. After extracting natural gas from underground water (brine water), the brine water is used to produce iodine, which is exported to Europe, the United States and Asian countries.