Japan firms scurry for oil concessions in Middle East, Russia, Brazil

Major Japanese trading firms are scrambling to secure rights to exploit oil and natural gas deposits in the Middle East, Russia, Brazil and other regions, seeing these concessions as key to expanding their earnings, a leading financial daily here reported Tuesday.

Marubeni Corp. has won a concession on an oil field in Qatar, while Mitsui and Co. and Sumitomo Corp. have expressed interest in participating in a large gas field project in northwest Russia, said the Nikkei Shimbun.