By Yuka Obayashi
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan Petroleum Exploration (Japex) is prioritising investment in oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) through 2030 - revising an earlier plan to aggressively expand its renewables businesses, its president said.
"For now, the investment focus will remain on oil and gas exploration and production... as securing a fair return from renewable energy sources such as offshore wind is challenging due to rising costs," President Michiro Yamashita told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.
Other global peers have also scaled back renewables investments due to lower returns. At the same time, profits from oil and gas have soared since Russia's invasion of Ukraine disrupted supply and propelled energy prices higher.
In 2022, Japex set a goal of having its profits split equally between E&P and other businesses by the 2030 financial year to support the energy transition towards carbon neutrality.
Yamashita said, however, that the current ratio of E&P contributing 70%-80% of earnings will likely remain unchanged through 2030, driven by expansion in the U.S. and Norway.
He added that Japex could selectively invest in non-oil and gas segments if returns are viable.
Japex's original plan called for E&P investment of 230 billion yen ($1.5 billion) over nine years. But the company now expects to invest 1.5 times that amount or even more as current crude prices exceed the plan's assumed $50 a barrel by a large margin.
"My biggest challenge now is acquiring a tight oil operator business in the U.S. and building an investment structure for sustainable profits," Yamashita said, adding that the company would like to secure a deal this year or in 2026.
Investment will likely be capped at $300 million per project, reflecting lessons from past losses on large investments and Japex's exit from a Canadian oil sands project, he said.
Japex wants to strike a balance between shareholder returns, financial soundness and investment discipline, Yamashita said.
In Norway, Japex is seeking to boost profit by expanding production at an existing project and with further exploration.
Yamashita said the Japanese company views the Trump administration's energy policy as enhancing predictability and stability, making it "favourable" for them.
Given Trump's plan to expand liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, the company aims to gradually acquire gas assets, he said. But the Alaska LNG project, which Trump supports, is not a realistic investment proposition due to its unclear economics and large scale, he said.