Japan depends on imports to meet its oil consumption needs and the government-controlled oil stocks to guard against a supply interruption . Oil demand in Japan has primarily declined due to fuel substitution , declining and aging population , and energy efficiency measures .
Japan has a robust oil sector comprised of various state-run , private , and foreign companies . Japan Oil , Gas and Metals National Corporation ( JOGMEC ), a state-run enterprise is responsible for Japanese companies involved in oil and gas exploration and production overseas .
The largest companies are Inpex and Japan Petroleum Exploration Company ( Japex ). Chevron , BP , Shell , and BHP Billiton are the foreign energy companies involved in providing products and services in Japan . The domestic oil reserves in Japan are available along the western coastline . Most of Japan ’ s domestic oil production is from the country ’ s large petroleum refining sector with limited resources . Chunxiao / Shirakaba and Longjing / Asunaro are the four natural gas fields that are jointly explored and developed by Japan and China due to the territorial claims .
Japan is investing more funds in overseas oil and natural gas operations . Japanese companies are involved in more than 140 oil and gas projects worldwide such as the Middle East , Southeast Asia , and Australia . Japanese oil companies involved in exploration and production projects overseas are Inpex , Cosmo Oil , Idemitsu Kosan Company , Japan Energy Development Corporation , Japex , Mitsubishi , Mitsui , Nippon Oil , and others .
Japan ’ s natural gas production has ceased due to the declining natural reserves in the past decade . Japan is using innovative methods to produce hydrocarbons and to discover methane hydrates . However , the costly innovations are sure to delay production plans . The Japanese government implemented carbon abatement policies and pledged to lower greenhouse gas emissions by 26 % by 2030 .
Japan owns the highest efficiency rate of coal-fired technology in the world . Japan is installing new , clean coal plant technologies , such as ultra-supercritical units or integrated gasification combined-cycle technology , to meet environmental targets and to replace some of the decades-old coal power plants .
Japan has three natural gas-fired power plants with a combined 4.8 GW of capacity under construction and scheduled to start operations by 2020 . It is expected that Japan ’ s nuclear reactors will utilize renewable energy resources in the coming years . By the year 2030 , LNG is expected to provide for around 27 % of Japan ’ s power generation .
An oscillation was observed in the Japanese oil and gas construction market in the past years . The oil and gas infrastructure exports are a pillar to Japan ' s growth strategy and the oil and gas construction in Japan has witnessed strong technology and innovation . Japan is Asia ' s most advanced economy and oil demand has declined for many years due to the ageing and declining