Nippon Oil Corp. and Japan Energy Corp., both under oil distributor JX Holdings Inc., merged Thursday into JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp., integrating their gas station brands.
Nippon Oil's ENEOS brand will absorb Japan Energy's JOMO brand. JOMO signs will be replaced by ENEOS signs at gas stations, the company said.
The new company's president, Yasushi Kimura, vowed at a launch ceremony in Tokyo to expand operations overseas centering on Asia and engage in new energy businesses, such as solar power.
"The decline in domestic demand is likely to accelerate amid the aging population and falling birthrate," he said.
JX Holdings, which holds about 30 percent of the domestic petroleum product market, was launched in April following a merger by Nippon Oil and Nippon Mining Holdings Inc., which had Japan Energy under its umbrella.
