Japan contains almost no oil reserves of its own (59 million barrels of proven oil reserves), but it is the world's third largest oil consumer (after the United States and China). According to the 2008 BP Statistical Energy Survey, Japan consumed an average of 5051.02 thousand barrels a day of oil in 2007 and imported 5031.89 thousand barrels a day during the same period, 9.17% of the world total. Part of the increase in oil consumption was attributable to the shutdown of a large number of nuclear power plants in 2003, which caused utilities to maximize use of oil-fired generating capacity. Most (75%-80%) of this oil came from OPEC, particularly Persian Gulf countries like the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and Iran.
Japanese oil companies have been active overseas since 1967, when the government established a state-run company to promote overseas oil exploration, the Japan National Oil Company (JNOC). Due to a number of bad loans undertaken by the company the Prime Minister called for its abolishment in November 2001, and the Japanese government has been planning its liquidation and considering what role it should have in financing overseas oil projects. However, one of the other major subsidiaries of JNOC, Japan Petroleum Exploration Corporation (Japex), was successfully listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in late 2003.
Japan is the largest importer of liquefied natural gas in the world, and, according to the 2008 BP Statistical Energy Survey, had 2007 natural gas consumption of 90.23 billion cubic metres, 3.07% of the world total.
According to the same survey, Japan had a refinery capacity of 4597.9 thousand barrels a day in 2007 and a refinery throughput of 3993.81 thousand barrels a day.
