Idemitsu Kosan, Japan's third-largest oil refiner, has agreed to buy the oil wholesale operations of U.S. firm New West Petroleum LLC, aiming to increase its overseas business to offset weak domestic demand, according to a Reuters report. Idemitsu announced late last week that it had reached a basic agreement to acquire the oil wholesale operations from the Sacramento, Calif.-based company on June 1 for an undisclosed price.
Japan's oil product sales have been stuck around two-decade lows due to its shrinking population and shift toward greener energy, prompting refiners to look overseas to compensate for weak business prospects at home, said the news agency.
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