Japan's largest oil and gas producer, Inpex, remains committed to Middle East operations despite months of disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
This has hampered its offshore operations in Abu Dhabi while leaving onshore production unaffected.
“I don't think they will reduce, or we will reduce,” Masato Kamiya, managing director of Inpex's Abu Dhabi business, told The National when asked whether Japan would cut its reliance on Middle Eastern oil.
“We will try our best to work together with others to increase the production,” he said in an interview on the sidelines of Adipec in Abu Dhabi.
Inpex's onshore production in the emirate has continued “without any disruption during this crisis”, Mr Kamiya said, although its offshore crude operations have faced difficulties. He did not elaborate on the extent of the disruption.
“We wish we could provide more crude oil to Japan from Abu Dhabi,” he said, before adding that any increase would depend on market conditions.
His comments highlight the importance of Middle Eastern oil to Japan's energy security, even as the conflict involving Iran has forced the country to seek alternative supplies and draw on emergency reserves.
Japan sourced about 94 per cent of its crude imports from the Middle East in 2025, leaving the world's fourth-largest economy particularly exposed when shipping through Hormuz was disrupted after the US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28.
The country's crude imports plunged to about 850,000 barrels per day in April, nearly two thirds below year-earlier levels and the lowest since records began in 1979.
“Japan doesn't have any natural resources in crude oil,” Mr Kamiya said, emphasising the importance of Japanese companies holding direct production rights overseas.
Inpex continues to seek a geographically balanced portfolio, he said, “but what I can say today [is] that Middle East is still a core area”.
Japan seeks alternatives
The disruption has accelerated Japan's efforts to diversify crude supplies, despite the country entering the crisis with emergency oil reserves equivalent to about 254 days of consumption.
Japan began releasing 80 million barrels from government reserves in March, its largest-ever drawdown, as part of an internationally co-ordinated effort to ease supply shortages.
The crisis also pushed petrol prices to record highs and disrupted petrochemical production as supplies of naphtha, a key feedstock, were tightened.
Japanese refiners have since turned to alternative suppliers and shipping routes.
The UAE accounted for 48.5 per cent of Japan's crude imports in September, with much of the oil loaded outside Hormuz, while the US supplied 27.5 per cent. The Middle East's overall share fell to 68.4 per cent, according to Japanese Trade Ministry figures.
Tokyo has also announced plans to support pipeline infrastructure that bypasses Hormuz, alongside measures to help refiners meet higher shipping costs and secure alternative crude supplies.
The diversification drive has not diminished the strategic importance of Abu Dhabi, where Inpex has been operating for more than five decades.
Expanding in Abu Dhabi gas
Inpex began producing oil offshore Abu Dhabi in 1973 and remains a major international partner in the emirate's upstream sector.
The company holds a 12 per cent stake in Upper Zakum, one of the world's largest offshore oilfields, and 10 per cent in Lower Zakum, under a concession extending to 2058.
Mr Kamiya said development at Upper Zakum was progressing according to plan but declined to provide production figures.
At Lower Zakum, an ageing field, managing reservoir pressure remains critical to maintaining output and supporting future increases, he said.
Alongside its established oil operations, Inpex is expanding its presence in Abu Dhabi's natural gas sector, as the UAE seeks to develop domestic resources and strengthen energy security.
The Japanese company discovered oil, condensate and gas at Onshore Block 4 in 2021, and secured a production concession in June 2025. Adnoc has since taken over operatorship, with Inpex retaining a 40 per cent interest.
Wells are still undergoing testing before a full development plan is finalised. “We see some further potential,” Mr Kamiya said.
Inpex also acquired a 5 per cent interest in Abu Dhabi's Bab Gas Cap concession this year, joining BP and TotalEnergies in a project expected to produce as much as 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas a day.
Mr Kamiya said the company was open to further gas opportunities with Adnoc, potentially including “strategic infrastructure”, although any new developments would need to be technically viable and commercially competitive.
Despite the disruption to regional energy trade, he said Inpex's decades-long partnership with Abu Dhabi remained central to its international strategy. “That long-term experience and relationship should be [the] foundation for our global business,” Mr Kamiya said.
