Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K., the Japanese unit of Royal Dutch Shell PLC, will join Nippon Oil Corp. and Cosmo Oil Co. in cutting crude processing this month as unusually warm weather reduces kerosene demand.
The company will process 2.35 million kiloliters of oil in January, spokesman Ichiro Miyawaki said Monday. It had planned to process 2.52 million kiloliters this month.
Nippon Oil and Cosmo Oil Co. said last week they would also cut processing for January because of flagging demand. Consumers bought less kerosene for heating due to warmer weather. The average temperature in Tokyo was 6.5 degrees in the first two weeks of January, 0.7 higher than the average for the 30 years to 2000, according to the Meteorological Agency.