Nippon Oil strikes gas field

Nippon Oil strikes gas field

TOKYO (AFP): Japan's Nippon Mitsubishi Oil Corp. said on Thursday its Australian unit had struck a gas field at a survey site in the Timor Sea off Darwin.

Nippon Oil Exploration Pty Ltd., owned 51 percent by Nippon Mitsubishi and 49 percent by Japan National Oil Corp., found natural gas with daily output of 65.5 million cubic feet (1.85 million cubic meters) in the field.

The field, about 700 kilometers (438 miles) west of Darwin, also produces 1,921 barrels of condensate daily, according to a flow test, Nippon Mitsubishi said in a statement.

The layer's depth is 280 meters (930 feet) and its deposits will be determined on the basis of the flow test and its analysis, the statement said.