Idemitsu Kosan Co. announced plans to start unifying its gasoline station brand, following the business integration in April of Idemitsu Kosan and Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K.

“We want to integrate the gas station brand names as early as possible,” Idemitsu Kosan President Shunichi Kito.

Idemitsu Kosan currently has some 6,500 gas stations across Japan. About 3,500 of them are from Idemitsu and use a logo that features the Greek god Apollo. The remaining 3,000 gas stations are from Showa Shell and use the ubiquitous scallop shell logo.

“If the situation is left unaddressed, we won’t be able to compete at all” with JXTG, which has a network of 13,000 gas stations across Japan, Kito said.

Idemitsu Kosan is not only Japan’s second largest fuel retailer, it is also the country’s second-largest oil refiner, with a refining capacity of 945,000 barrels per day, compared to industry leader JXTG Nippon Oil Energy with 1.93 million barrels per day. 

JXTG Nippon Oil Energy’s parent company, JXTG Holdings, recently announced a corporate re-branding exercise, taking on its brand, ENEOS, as its corporate name. JXTG Holdings was created in 2017 through the integration of JX Holdings Inc. and TonenGeneral Sekiyu K.K. JXTG Nippon Oil Energy’s retail outlets operate under the unified brand name of ENEOS.

Regarding the possible acquisition of Cosmo Energy Holdings Co., the third-largest Japanese oil refiner, Kito said Idemitsu Kosan is currently focused on generating synergistic effects from the merger of the company with Showa Shell.