Nippon Oil, Japan Energy to join wholesale pricing

Japanese refiners Nippon Oil and Japan Energy will consolidate their wholesale oil products pricing a month ahead of their planned merger to become JX Group on July 1, the companies said. Wholesale pricing of gasoline, kerosene, gasoil and A-fuel (a 90:10 blend of gasoil and fuel oil) will be issued jointly from June 1, the companies said. They have jointly designed a new weekly formula for setting wholesale prices that is linked to quotes from local pricing agency RIM Intelligence Co. and the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, said company officials, who declined to give details on the mechanism. Neither refiner currently discloses their actual wholesale price to the public, only the adjustments, and that will remain the case. (April 8, 2010)