Japan and South Korea are countries lacking in oil and gas resources in the Asia-Pacific region, so their oil and gas are heavily dependent on imports. Its energy security policy focuses on obtaining a safe and reliable oil supply and establishing an oil reserve system through legislation. Indonesia is rich in oil and gas resources and is one of the important oil producers in Southeast Asia. Therefore, Indonesia's oil and gas development policy focuses on oil and gas cooperative exploration and development projects with foreign countries, and monopolizes oil development projects through product sharing contracts and work contracts with foreign companies.

1. Overview of Japan's oil and gas industry development and oil and gas security strategy

1. Japan's oil and gas production and reserves

Japan is an economic power with developed industries and extremely scarce oil and gas resources, and 99.7% of its oil consumption depends on imports. The remaining proven reserves of domestic oil were 8.14 million tons by 22, which was .25% higher than the remaining proven reserves of 7.99 million tons by 21. Japan's oil output in 22 was 6, tons (estimated value), which was 8.4% lower than the output of 655, tons in 21.

Japan is also a country with poor natural gas resources. At the end of 1999, there were only a few Oketa in Japan. From 1976 to 1999, Japan produced 2.2 billion to 2.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually, and in 22 it was 2.42 billion cubic meters. Japan's estimated proven natural gas reserves on January 1, 23 were 39.644 billion cubic meters, an increase of .99% compared with the estimated proven reserves in the same period in 22. Japan's output in 22 was 2.42 billion cubic meters, which was 1.46% lower than that in 21.

2. Japan's oil and gas trade

Japan is the fourth largest energy consumer in the world, the second largest energy importer (after the United States) and the second largest oil importer in the world. Japan lacks sufficient domestic energy sources and must rely heavily on imported energy. About 8% of the country's primary energy is imported. Japan's oil resources are overseas and its market is at home. In 2, it imported 264 million tons of oil and 72.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

Japan's natural gas imports are increasing year by year (see table 7-2). Japan is an island country and has no pipeline conditions for importing pipeline natural gas from abroad. Japan mainly imports liquefied natural gas, of which the trade volume of liquefied natural gas was 66.1 billion cubic meters in 1998. Japan's main natural gas import sources: Indonesia accounts for 39%, Malaysia accounts for 2%, Australia accounts for 16%, Brunei accounts for 1% and UAE accounts for 1%.

table 7-2 Japan's natural gas imports (unit: 1 million cubic meters)

source: Japan's Ministry of international trade and industry.

in p>1999, Japan's major oil imports came from the middle east, accounting for 85.% of Japan's total oil imports, of which UAE accounted for 26.4%, Saudi Arabia for 22.1%, Iran for 9.8%, Qatar for 7.%, Indonesia and Kuwait for 5.9% and Oman for 5.1%. In addition, the oil imported from China accounts for 4.7% of the total Japanese oil imports.

3. Oil and gas consumption in Japan

(1) Japan's economic growth and oil and gas consumption

Japan's economy is constantly growing. Although Japan's economy has been in trouble since the 199s, its annual growth rate is about 1.3%, and its consumption of energy, especially oil and natural gas, is still growing. See Table 7-3 for the relationship between economic growth and energy consumption.

table 7-3 economic growth and energy consumption in Japan

source: Japan's Ministry of international trade and industry.

(2) Oil and gas consumption in Japan

The consumption of natural gas and oil in Japan is increasing with the continuous economic growth. See Table 7-4 for its oil consumption since 1988.

table 7-4 Japan's oil consumption since 1988 (unit: 1, tons)

(According to Energy Policy Research, April 2)

Japan's natural gas consumption is also increasing. Its consumption was 62.498 billion cubic meters in 1995, 67.679 billion cubic meters in 1996, with an increase rate of 8.28%, 66.41 billion cubic meters in 1997, down 1.88% from 1996, and 69.26 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 1998, up 4.29% from 1997.

(3) Japan's oil and gas consumption structure

Japan is the second largest economic power. Due to the huge oil consumption, Japan's dependence on imports is very high. If an oil crisis occurs, Japan's economy and national security will be greatly endangered. Therefore, in recent years, Japan has made continuous efforts to reduce the proportion of its oil consumption in primary energy consumption and continuously increase the consumption of natural gas and other clean energy sources. In the energy consumption structure, oil was 52.8% in 1997, 51.1% in 1999, and it is expected to reach 5.1% ~ 47.7% in 21. The proportion of natural gas was 1.7% in 1997, 13.2% in 1999 and is expected to reach 12.7% ~ 14% in 21.

4. Oil and gas reserves and its energy security policy

Japan is the largest importer of crude oil and natural gas in the Asia-Pacific region, and its domestic energy resources are extremely poor, and almost all oil and gas are imported. And 99.6% of its oil consumption depends on imports, and 77.3% of its oil comes from the Middle East, which means that Japan is more vulnerable to oil problems than other countries. Therefore, Japan has actively taken various steps to reserve oil. Since 1975, Japan has carried out a large number of strategic oil reserves and formulated the Petroleum Reserve Law, which stipulates that both oil importers and oil refiners have the obligation to reserve oil. By the early 198s, Japan's total reserves were equivalent to its 121-day net oil import. By 1992, Japan's total oil reserves were 8 million tons, accounting for 28% of its annual consumption, equivalent to its 14-day oil consumption needs; By 1995, Japan's national and private oil reserves were equivalent to 157 days' consumption. At present, it has become the second largest oil reserve country after the United States.

Japan's oil reserve system can be divided into two parts: one is the national reserve according to its oil reserve law, and the other is the private reserve. There are two kinds of national reserves, namely, the reserve base directly built by the state and the reserve base leased by the state to the people; Private reserves are divided into oil reserves carried out by private oil enterprises and those carried out by departments importing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Its reserve system is shown in Figure 7-1.

Figure 7-1 Japan Oil Reserve System

(According to the Information Center of the Ministry of Land and Resources, 21)

The main target of Japan's national oil reserve is crude oil. So far, Japan has planned to build 1 national reserve bases in different regions. By March 1995, Japan's private oil reserves were about 45.4 million cubic meters, and the government's oil reserves were about 45 million cubic meters. The total reserves were equivalent to 157 days' consumption level.

The mechanism and organization for the use of Japan's oil reserves are: Japan Petroleum Corporation is responsible for the use of reserves according to the order of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. In principle, the government reserve is the "last measure". Before using the government reserve, the non-governmental reserve in the industry must be put on the market first, and the government reserve can be used under the following two circumstances:

(1) An agreement has been reached to use the government reserve as a joint emergency response.

(2) The government considers it necessary to use the reserves after considering the nature of the oil supply interruption.

The sources of funds for Japan's strategic oil reserves are: the funds reserved by the government are from the Japan Petroleum Corporation (7%), refineries and local governments; Private reserves are made up of refineries, marketers and importers.

In July p>1999, Japan Petroleum Policy Committee (the advisory body of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry) suggested that the Ministry of International Trade and Industry should consider using government reserves at the early stage of supply interruption, and increase the reserves to a level comparable to that of other important members of the IEA, that is, an increase of 31.4 million barrels.

the basic goal of Japan's energy security policy in 196s was to ensure a stable oil supply. Later, the first energy crisis forced Japan to diversify its energy sources. Therefore, the policy objectives were adjusted to maintain a stable supply of various energy sources (see Table 7-5), not just the supply of oil, expand the use of nuclear energy and other alternative energy sources, reduce oil imports, implement strict new measures aimed at improving energy efficiency in the construction sector and transportation sector, and deregulate the oil and gas sector and the power sector. In short, the basic elements of Japan's energy security policy are: < P

B. develop non-petroleum energy substitutes, especially nuclear energy and liquefied natural gas (LNG);

C. Diversification of oil supply sources and maintaining friendly relations with energy-producing countries;

D. Promote the protection and commercialization of new energy technologies;

e. formulate emergency energy management procedures, establish oil reserves, and cope with possible oil supply interruption;

F. Strengthen regional cooperation.

Table 7-5 Japan's energy security indicators (fiscal year 1973-21) (%)

Note: Japan's fiscal year is from April 1st of each year to the end of March of the next year (according to Zhao Zhiling, 21)

In 1967, Japan established a state-owned company (Nippon Oil Corporation, JN) to support Japanese oil companies that explore overseas. Japan Petroleum Corporation has supported more than 3 overseas oil and gas exploration projects. The original goal was to increase the proportion of oil produced by Japanese companies overseas in consumption to 3%. However, it has only reached 15% at present. Another function of Japan Petroleum Corporation is to establish the government's crude oil reserves. Japan Petroleum Corporation has spent a lot of money to establish 1 reserve bases. At present, the reserve oil managed by Japan Petroleum Corporation is equivalent to 78 days' consumption. If the reserves of private oil companies are added, Japan can withstand the interruption of oil supply for six months in a row. The normal operation of organizations such as Japan Petroleum Corporation depends on the income from various forms of energy tax, so Japan's energy price is the highest among all OECD countries.

from a regional perspective, Japan and its neighboring countries, especially East Asian countries, are facing the same energy security problems. A sound regional energy system is beneficial to Japan. Systematic arrangements, such as regional oil purchasing and storage system, can strengthen the ability to resist the interruption of oil supply and ensure that oil supply can meet the growing demand and maintain a reasonable price. In addition, the traditional concept of energy security has been given more meaning. In 198, the Nakasone Prime Minister's Policy Research Group first used the concept of energy security in its report. Since then, environmental security has developed into a new field of work to maintain the sustainable development of the region. In order to achieve this goal, Japan has made great efforts to create and fund many research projects. The following are some possible areas of regional cooperation:

a. Information sharing on energy policy, demand forecast and supply strategy;

B. Oil reserves of bilateral or multilateral reserves and reserve release mechanism;

C. Regular joint review of emergency measures;

D. Cooperate to study measures to limit demand, such as taxation, energy protection and improving efficiency;

e. regional LNG trade and development;

F. Joint development of renewable energy;

g. protect international shipping lines through diplomatic means and national defense strategy;

H. Environmental cooperation, such as cross-border air pollution.

in July p>1996, with the financial support of Japan, the Asia-Pacific Energy Research Center (APERC) was established in Tokyo. The center has promoted APEC member countries' understanding and understanding of various energy and environmental issues. For example, APERC investigated the costs and benefits of establishing emergency oil reserves in APEC member countries. Later, Japanese researchers were prompted to put forward the following suggestions: Japan proposed to establish an "Asian strategic oil reserve" to resist the interruption of oil supply.

on the issue of regional cooperation, Japan has been making a lot of financial efforts and providing technical support. These activities include: cooperative projects jointly implemented with China in energy conservation and effective utilization; Tripartite meeting of environment ministers with China and South Korea; East Asia acid rain monitoring network system; APEC Virtual Center for Environmental Technology Exchange (APEC-VC); And the "Asian Nuclear Energy Cooperation Forum" co-organized with Australia, China, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam in November 2.

In the past, Japan Petroleum Corporation gave financial support to the project regardless of whether oil was really discovered. Although this subsidy for oil exploration can promote Japan to obtain a certain amount of oil reserves expected in the future and provide reserves guarantee for Japan's long-term oil supply to a certain extent, it makes the company have no incentive to seek high returns to a certain extent. As a result, a large number of investment projects and loan guarantees have accumulated many bad debts (more than 1 trillion yen) for a long time. According to media reports, of the 266 companies that received subsidy funds from Japan Petroleum Corporation, 154 have gone bankrupt, and of the remaining 112, only 13 have no losses. Poor financial management eventually led to a scandal, forcing the chairman of the oil corporation to step down. In order to make up for the losses, Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry requires oil companies to liquidate profitable projects to offset bad debts.

in addition, in February, 2, the drilling right of the subsidiary company of Petroleum Corporation (Japan Arabian Oil Company) in Saudi Arabia was not extended. It is a heavy blow to Japan's policy of seeking overseas oil investment. Therefore, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry has reconsidered its future policy, and will gradually reduce its financial support for oil companies' oil development expenditures, and the public organizations will be more cautious in funding private oil companies. (Zhao Zhiling, reference for international economic trends)

II. Overview of oil and gas industry development and oil and gas security strategy in South Korea

1. Oil and gas production and reserves, trade and situation in South Korea

South Korea is also a country with relatively poor oil and gas resources. There are almost no oil and gas reserves in China, 97% of all kinds of energy consumption depends on imports, and more than 75% of its oil is imported from the Middle East. With the development of national economy, energy consumption has risen rapidly, reaching 1.4 million tons of oil equivalent in 1962, 15 million tons of oil equivalent in 1995, an increase of nearly 14 times, and 182 million tons of oil equivalent in 1999. In 1998, South Korea consumed 99.3 million tons of oil and 15.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas. In the composition of world primary energy consumption in 1999, South Korea's oil consumption accounted for 56.3% and natural gas consumption accounted for 9.3%.

in recent 1 years, the average annual growth rate of energy consumption in South Korea is higher than that of GDP, which is 1.3% and 8.7% respectively. The consumption of oil and natural gas has a higher growth rate, with the average annual growth rate of natural gas consumption reaching 22%, ranking first among Asian countries.

in p>1998, Korea imported 14.3 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

2. South Korea's oil and gas reserves and its energy security policy

In p>1979, the Korea Petroleum Development Corporation (PEDCO) Act (renamed the Korea National Petroleum Corporation (KNOC) on January 1, 1999) stipulated the establishment of a government oil reserve system, which was revised in 1991, and the oil management regulations implemented in 1993 were privatized.