Nippon Oil Corp. and merger partner Nippon Mining Holdings Inc. will start a new processing unit with chemical makers as part of efforts to integrate operations.

The companies will commission the 35,000 barrel-a-day condensate splitter in Mizushima, Okayama Prefecture, at the end of August, Masaki Takata, a spokesman at Nippon Mining's oil refining unit, Japan Energy, said Tuesday.

Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp. and Asahi Kasei Corp., which operate adjacent chemical plants, are also partners.