Sumitomo to Jointly Manage Oil Refiner With Petrobras

Tokyo, Nov. 12 (Jiji Press)–Major Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp. said Monday it has agreed with Brazil’s Petrobras to jointly manage Nansei Sekiyu K.K., an oil refiner based in Okinawa Prefecture.

Sumitomo and the Brazilian state-run oil company will use Nansei Sekiyu K.K. as a base for shipments of petroleum products such as jet fuel and diesel fuel to China and Southeast Asian nations.

Nansei Sekiyu is currently owned 87.5 pct by TonenGeneral Sekiyu K.K. in terms of voting rights and 12.5 pct by Sumitomo. Petrobras has agreed to acquire all of TonenGeneral’s stake, while Sumitomo will retain its stake.

Sumitomo and Petrobras will also consider using Nansei Sekiyu as a foothold for businesses related to new energy sources such as bio- ethanol.

Nansei Sekiyu, which has a daily oil refining capacity of 100,000 barrels, plans to upgrade its facility to enable processing of heavy oil produced in Brazil.END

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