Inpex to conduct exploratory gas drilling off west Japan from March

Japan's biggest oil and gas explorer Inpex Corp will conduct exploratory offshore drilling off western Japan from March to July in the hope of finding natural gas, the company and a ministry of industry official said.

The project, off the Yamaguchi and Shimane prefectures, if successful, is expected to help improve the country's energy self-sufficiency rate, Inpex said in a statement on Monday.

It will be the first offshore exploration in Japan since a gas project, off Niigata prefecture in central Japan, operated by Japan Petroleum Exploration, started production in 1990, the ministry official said on Tuesday.

For Inpex, it