Foreign Companies Invest in U.S. Oil & Gas Production

---

Written by Paul Wiseman for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

---

Summary

Expansion Focuses on U.S.

Japan Petroleum Exploration (Japex) announced on April 22 that it plans to quadruple its oil and gas output over the next 10 years, citing energy security concerns. The company plans to invest 1.16 trillion yen ($7.3 billion) in exploration and production (E&P), with over half of that money going toward assets in the United States. Their larger goal is to quadruple oil and gas output, from 45,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/d) in 2025, to 180,000 BOE/d by 2035.

Company President Michiro Yamashita said that the rest of the investment would be evenly divided between Norway and Southeast Asia. Based on data from Industrial Info Resources, one of the major Japex projects that could kick off this year is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification terminal in Vietnam that will be capable of regasifying up 650,000 metric tons of LNG annually. Subscribers to the Industrial Info Resources Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Terminals Project Database can learn more by viewing the project report.

Japex has said it views the current U.S. administration's energy policy as being "favorable" and offering stability for such long-term E&P investments.

Raising Net Profit

All this is part of a larger plan for the company to more than double its net profit, from 45 billion yen in 2025 to 100 billion yen by 2035. To do that, they plan investments totaling 1.5 trillion yen in the company's major growth areas during that time. Growth areas include exploration and production activities and carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS).

Yamashita cautioned that these numbers do not account for recent commodity price increases due to the crisis in the Middle East and the closing of the Strait of Hormuz.

JERA Buys U.S. Production

The Japex announcements follow another recent Japanese investment in U.S. energy. Houston-based JERA Americas, a subsidiary of JERA, Japan's largest power generation company, closed a deal in the Haynesville Shale of western Louisiana and east Texas in February of this year.

JERA acquired 100% of the respective interests of Williams and GEP Haynesville II, LLC in the South Mansfield upstream in the Haynesville Shale. JERA was already active there, with existing natural gas, LNG, renewables, advanced fuels and carbon reduction technologies.

The company's existing assets include the Blue Point low carbon ammonia project in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, the 300 megawatt Oxbow Solar Farm, along with carbon capture and LNG offtake agreements.

JERA's Haynesville deal included an upfront investment of $1.5 billion.

European E&Ps Also Increase U.S. Investments

Two of Europe's biggest majors, BP and TotalEnergies, have also increased their U.S. investments. In September of 2025, Total agreed with Continental Resources to acquire 49% of the latter's interest in natural gas-producing assets it owned in Oklahoma's Anadarko Basin. TotalEnergies said the acquisition "further strengthens TotalEnergies' integration across the liquefied natural gas (LNG) value chain in the U.S."

Also in September, BP approved its 100%-owned Tiber-Guadalupe project in the U.S. Gulf. Its announcement predicted the Tiber platform would have production capacity of 80,000 barrels of oil per day and would unlock around 10 billion barrels of discovered resources in place across the company's Gulf of Mexico Paleogene assets.

Friendly Investment Climate

BP, TotalEnergies and the Japanese companies were already active in the U.S., with the European companies' connection spanning decades. Expanding U.S. energy investments reflect two main issues: the fossil-fuel-friendliness of the current U.S. administration, and the increasing understanding of the need for energy reliability.

While all of these completed investments occurred before the current conflict in the Middle East, the significant rise in energy prices since then have reinforced the understanding of how volatile world energy markets can be.

Key Takeaways

• Oil and gas friendly U.S. administration invites long-term energy investment from east and west
• Japex, JERA, BP, TotalEnergies and others are paying billions for U.S. oil and gas assets, from which they plan to invest further to improve production.

---

About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 trillion (USD).