Japan's oil product sales have been stuck around two-decade lows due to its shrinking population and shift toward greener energy, prompting [image-nocss] refiners to look overseas to compensate for weak business prospects at home, said the news agency.
New West Petroleum annually sells around 1.4 million kilolitres (8.8 million barrels) of gas oil and 1 million kl of gasoline, and had revenue of $1.17 billion last year. That is about 17% of the gas oil and kerosene that Idemitsu sells to domestic markets annually.
Idemitsu officials said it may export its fuel to the United States from Japan in the future for sale.
The company has 4,700 gas stations under the Idemitsu brand name located throughout Japan, according to its website.
The move marks Idemitsu's full-fledged entry into the U.S. oil wholesale business. It withdrew from a similar business in Puerto Rico in the past.
New West Petroleum, wholly owned by founder J. Gilbert Moore, has wholesale oil terminals in Oregon, Nevada, California and Arizona.
The company exited retail in mid-2008 in favor of expanding its wholesale business and to further develop its real-estate prospects, officials said then.
"Retail has just become frustrating with the [rising] credit card fees and [other challenges].... We felt we could make more money doing something else," Moore told CSP Daily News at the time. "We're going to expand our real-estate [business] and increase our wholesale operations."
Founded in 1986, New West is a family-run business; Moore started the company as a wholesale distributor selling to end users such as trucking companies, farmers and gas stations. From 1991 to1994, New West concentrated sales on government contracts. In 1994, New West diversified its asset portfolio with the purchase of the company's first retail station and convenience store. By 2000, the company owned and operated 36 branded and three unbranded stations with c-stores, car washes and fast-food franchises. In 2008, New West had wholesale operations in five states.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.