TOKYO, Jan 22 - Cosmo Oil Co (5007.T), Japan's fourth-largest refiner, will be granted a 20-year extension of its stake in an offshore Abu Dhabi oilfield that is set to expire in 2012, a Japanese newspaper reported on Thursday.
The move comes among increased efforts by Japanese firms to procure stable crude oil production amid an ambitious aim by the government to produce 40 percent of the country's oil needs from Japanese-owned fields by 2030.
A Cosmo subsidiary, Abu Dhabi Oil Co, which has been operating the United Arab Emirates oilfield under a 45-year contract, may also be granted additional exploration rights when the agreement is renewed, the Nikkei business daily said. A spokesman said the company would not comment on the report.
Abu Dhabi Oil, which currently produces about 18,000 barrels per day (bpd), has the capacity to produce about 25,000 bpd.
The Abu Dhabi government's investment arm, International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC), owns one-fifth of Cosmo.
UAE is Cosmo's biggest crude supplier and the second-biggest supplier to Japan after Saudi Arabia.
The move comes among increased efforts by Japanese firms to procure stable crude oil production amid an ambitious aim by the government to produce 40 percent of the country's oil needs from Japanese-owned fields by 2030.
A Cosmo subsidiary, Abu Dhabi Oil Co, which has been operating the United Arab Emirates oilfield under a 45-year contract, may also be granted additional exploration rights when the agreement is renewed, the Nikkei business daily said. A spokesman said the company would not comment on the report.
Abu Dhabi Oil, which currently produces about 18,000 barrels per day (bpd), has the capacity to produce about 25,000 bpd.
The Abu Dhabi government's investment arm, International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC), owns one-fifth of Cosmo.
UAE is Cosmo's biggest crude supplier and the second-biggest supplier to Japan after Saudi Arabia.
