The third largest refiner in Japan, Idemitsu Kosan Co is keenly interested in the acquisition of stakes in Canadian gas fields. The move is to secure its price competitiveness in the LNG import market in Japan according to newly installed President Takashi Tsukioka.

The Japanese company is now partnering with AltaGas Ltd of Canada to export LNG from the United States, where shale gas supplies have lowered the natural gas prices worldwide.

Tsukioka said, "If there are good stakes in gas fields, we would like to find them in Canada, hoping to bring LNG that is as cheap as possible to Japan." He is the current executive vice president and will be appointed to become Idemitsu president after the June shareholders meeting. Outgoing president Kasuhisa Nakano would be taking the post of Chairman of the Board.

The company also plans to invest 90 billion yen or US$936 million in upstream oil developments in the next two years.