The new entity that will be created by the merger of Nippon Oil Corp. and Nippon Mining Holdings Inc. in October will strive to develop oil fields and other resource sites overseas, while consolidating domestic refineries and gas stations to improve efficiency, the presidents of the two firms said.

"Western major resources companies turn good profits in the so-called upstream operations (resources exploration), so we also want to do well in this area," Nippon Oil President Shinji Nishio said in a recent interview. "We will do more to develop oil and natural gas fields in regions such as Southeast Asia and the U.S. territorial section of the Gulf of Mexico, where we already have a presence."

Mitsunori Takahagi, president of Nippon Mining, said in a separate interview that the merged company, which will be Japan's biggest oil firm, "will invest more, for example, in Chilean copper mines, where we are already active," as the new firm will have a strong fundraising capacity.