JX Nippon Oil buys 5% stake in Indonesian mining company

JX Nippon Oil and Energy Corp., Japan’s largest oil company, announced that it has acquired a 5% stake in PT Horna Inti Mandiri, an Indonesian mining company. JX Nippon, a unit of JX Holdings , did not disclose the value of its investment. The acquisition gives JX Nippon the right to sell thermal coal to Japanese utility companies. Japanese utilities are looking for alternatives to nuclear power, after the closure of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March. Currently, JX Nippon imports approximately nine million tons a year of coal to Japan. (June 7,2011)