Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Japan Energy Corp., the refining unit of Nippon Mining Holdings Inc., plans to process 4 percent more crude oil in the October-to-December period from a year ago after starting a new plant at its Kashima refinery this year.

Japan Energy will process 6.27 million kiloliters of crude (39.4 million barrels) in the three months, spokesman Masaki Takata said by phone today.

Japan Energy began operations at a 60,000 barrels-a-day unit at the Kashiwa refinery, north of Tokyo, on Jan. 4. The plant processes condensate, a type of light crude used to produce naphtha, a feedstock for petrochemical products.

When condensate is excluded from the figures, Japan Energy's processing volume for the period would be 5.56 million kiloliters, or 4 percent less from a year ago, Takata said.

During the three-month period ending today, the company estimates it would have processed 5.89 million kiloliters, or 5 percent more than a year ago, he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Megumi Yamanaka in Tokyo at myamanaka@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 29, 2008 22:03 EDT