Tokyo, 23 September 1996 (RFE/RL) -- Japan plans to obtain exclusive rights from Kazakhstan to explore and exploit crude oil deposits in coastal regions of the Aral Sea, a Japanese newspaper reports today.
Officials of the Japan National Oil Corporation said the corporation's president, Kunio Komatsu, will sign an agreement on the project today with Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin, said the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper.
The daily said the project could lead to the first independent development of major Central Asian oil resources by Japanese firms. Japan's Nation Oil Corporation is partly owned by the government.
Officials of the Japan National Oil Corporation said the corporation's president, Kunio Komatsu, will sign an agreement on the project today with Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin, said the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper.
The daily said the project could lead to the first independent development of major Central Asian oil resources by Japanese firms. Japan's Nation Oil Corporation is partly owned by the government.