JAPEX Extracts Shale Oil in Japan

Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. (JAPEX) on Wednesday extracted shale oil for the first time in Japan, from the Ayukawa oil and gas field in Yurihonjo, Akita Prefecture, various news reports said.

Reuters in a report said that JAPEX estimates several million barrels of shale oil are contained in the Ayukawa oil and gas field. The company is hoping that about 100 million barrels of shale oil, equivalent to about 8 percent of Japan's annual domestic oil demand, lie under Akita prefecture. JAPEX is examining whether commercial extraction is feasible, the newswire report quoted an official as saying.

Shale oil, also known as 'tight oil' because it is sandwiched between hard layers of shale rock, is one the world's fastest-growing sources of oil and mass production has taken off in the United States and Canada.