-- Japan's largest oil and gas explorer, Inpex (TYO:1605), is reconsidering its plan to allocate investment to the Middle East due to the Iran war, which has already delayed its projects in the United Arab Emirates, Nikkei Asia reported on Friday, citing President Takayuki Ueda.
Instead, the company is evaluating resource development opportunities in Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia and Malaysia, and has started examining specific projects ranging from active oil and gas fields to those still in early stages, said the news agency.
While Inpex had set aside up to 300 billion yen of its 850 billion yen annual growth budget for Abu Dhabi, those funds may be redirected if regional instability persists, the publication said, citing Ueda, who cited Southeast Asia's proximity to Japan as a key advantage.
The company currently supplies about 500,000 barrels of crude oil per day--roughly 20% of Japan's imports--with two-thirds coming from Abu Dhabi, but the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has blocked some UAE exports and sharply reduced production, the report said.
Although major facilities in Abu Dhabi have not been severely damaged, the war in Iran has increased the risk of delays to Inpex's production expansion plans there, it added.
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