Arab News Japan

TOKYO: A group of scientists in Japan have concluded that crude oil is highly likely to exist in the seabed off the coast of Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, the daily Asahi Shimbun reported.

The scenic Izura coastal area, where the oil is thought to be found, was designated by the government as a national treasure and contains a large number of unusually shaped rocks.

According to the report, a type of natural cement was created there by the combination of calcium from ocean water with carbon from organic substances, which researchers now believe is from methane in natural gas.

The scientists, including geologist Hisao Ando from Ibaraki University and others from Hokkaido University, published their findings in July that the seabed there probably holds oil.

Research on the rocks began about seven years ago, with the team utilizing a highly sensitive detector to analyze the makeup of traces of gas found in hollows in the rocks.

The preliminary findings will be confirmed by a national seabed resource survey being conducted by the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp., which was started last year using a geophysical exploration vessel.