Japex Gains Most in 18 Months on Shale Oil Find: Tokyo Mover

Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. (1662) rose the most in 18 months in Tokyo trading after Kyodo News reported the nation’s second-biggest oil and gas explorer succeeded in trial extraction of shale oil in the country.

Shares of the company, known as Japex, rose as much as 10 percent, the most since March 16, 2011, to 3,545 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The stock fell back to 3,370 yen at the trading break in Tokyo.

The company found a small amount of shale oil today at its Ayukawa oil and gas field in northern Japan’s Akita prefecture during trials that started on Oct. 1, said a Tokyo-based Japex spokesman who asked not to be named in line with company policy. Japex will continue the tests until early next year to develop production technology for shale gas and oil.

The company estimates shale-oil reserves of 5 million barrels at the field, according to the spokesman. This compares with Japan’s average daily crude oil imports of 3.4 million barrels in 2011.

To contact the reporter on this story: Yuji Okada in Tokyo at yokada6@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net