Showa Shell Sekiyu KK, Japan’s fifth-biggest refiner, said its domestic gasoline sales rose by 2.1 per cent last year, in contrast to larger rivals, which have seen a decline due to lower overall demand.

All of its four larger rivals, including Nippon Oil, reported a year-on-year fall in motor fuel demand.
 Jun Arai, Showa Shell’s director, said sales grew due to a restructuring of the company’s gas service station (SS) network, such as closing money-losing outlets.
The number of stations fell by 170 last year.
“The number of self-service SS grew to about 12 per cent of all group SS at the end of December, accounting for 36 percent of our gasoline sales,” he said. “Self-service stations fared better.”
Japan’s gasoline sales fell 1.1 percent in 2006, marking the first year-on-year drop since the 1974 oil shock as high pump prices reduced consumer use of auto fuel, government data showed last month. [ID:nT231471]
Nippon Oil expects a 2.5 percent fall in gasoline sales in the year ending this March, while Idemitsu Kosan and Cosmo Oil, the country’s third and fourth biggest oil refiners, foresee a decline of 0.3 per cent and 1.7 per cent in the same period.
The Exxon Mobil Japan group reported a 5.2 per cent fall in sales in January-September.
Riding on firm demand, Showa Shell aims to grow its gasoline sales by another 5 per cent this year to 10.5 million kilolitres.