Idemitsu to acquire wholesale oil business in U.S.

Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd. announced that it had reached a basic agreement to acquire the wholesale oil operations of Sacramento, California-based New West Petroleum LLC on June 1 for an undisclosed amount. New West Petroleum annually sells around 1.4 million kiloliters (kl) of gas oil and 1 million kl of gasoline and posted revenues of US$1.17 billion last year. New West Petroleum, which is wholly owned by founder J. Gilbert Moore, has wholesale oil terminals in Oregon, Nevada, California and Arizona.Idemitsu officials said it may export fuel products from its Japanese refinery to the United States in the future. The move marks Idemitsu’s full-fledged entry into the wholesale oil business in the U.S. (May 7, 2010)