TOKYO, March 7 (KUNA) -- Japan's leading trading firm Mitsubishi Corp. and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. will each acquire 25 percent interests in a mining block in northeast Java estimated to hold 300 million barrels worth of crude oil and natural gas, media here reported Wednesday.
The Tokyo-based firms will spend about JPY 20 billion (USD 172 million) each to buy new shares to be issued by Indonesian oil company Energi Mega Pratama Inc., which currently owns a 100 percent interest in the block, according to the Nikkei business daily.
Mitsubishi and Japex will lead the development of a new natural gas field there in two years, aiming to raise the combined output of crude and natural gas to 60,000 barrels daily from the current 10,600, it said. The natural gas will be shipped via pipelines for sale in Indonesia.
While imports of LNG from the Asian nation had been declining with Jakarta putting priority on domestic supply, Japanese firms aim to secure new procurement sources and strengthen their relations with the resource-rich country by cooperating on infrastructure projects.
