Natural gas production in Japan and Indonesia 1916-1945

In the build up to the Second World War, the fact that Japan's industrial ambitions were hindered by its lack of fossil fuel resources was one of the main motivators for its expansion into Southeast Asia. Not only did the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) have petroleum output around 25 times higher than Japan in the years before the war, but its natural gas output was also 15 to 20 times larger. Japan's successful annexation of Indonesia in 1942 made it one of the most important territories incorporated into the Empire of Japan during the Second World War.