エネルギー資源開発の将来像

―秋田油ガス田群の開発技術史になにを学ぶか―

抄録

Some meaningful measures for Japanese petroleum industry are identified on the basis of lessons in the facts of history for development technologies in Akita Oil and Gas fields.

Primarily a smart utilization technologies of domestic oil and gas resources, even their reserves are remarkably small, must be researched and developed continuously with mobilizing our all intelligence. Particularly, the utilization of natural gas dissolved in water, reserved under the Japanese main plains, might be enable as available energy resources with application of technologies suitable for Japanese society.

Geological data of the Domestic Petroleum Fundamental Survey Programs, conducted by Japanese Government, covers widely offshore around Japanese Islands even the difference of the data density. Contribution of the data may be recognized not only for direct discoveries of oil and gas field but also elucidation for the total tectonic development processes of the Japan Arcs including offshore basins. It is important to disclose all the data acquired by the programs in the offshore basins widely to Japanese academia in Earth Sciences, and to create a great sensation of systematic research efforts involving a large number of academic researchers. Not only direct prospecting of oil and gas, but deep understandings with wide geological viewpoints for petroleum-bearing sedimentary basins itself may bring huge successes in the petroleum exploration in the future.

Upbringing of the young technologists and higher education for the students in resource faculties are still serious demands of the petroleum industry. If it is practical to maintain domestic marginal oil and gas fields persistently, under the collaboration of industry, government and academia, regardless of profitability, those can be utilized as the fields for fostering technologists, and test fields for frontier technologies, which are the “backyard” of the industry with added value.