Cosmo Oil Co Ltd plans to cut its crude oil processing volume for the first quarter of 1999 by about 10 per cent from the same period this year, adjusting production of kerosene, gas oil and fuel oil, a company spokesman said.

In October-December, Cosmo cut crude processing by about 10 per cent year-on-year. Japan Energy Corp said it will curtail its crude processing by about 10 per cent, after a cut of about 14 per cent in the October-December quarter.

Although there are still uncertainties about the weather and demand, Mitsubishi Oil Co Ltd will cut the Mitsubishi group's crude processing by about five per cent year-on-year for January-March, compared with a cut of a little over 10 per cent for the preceding quarter, a spokesman said.

Nippon Oil Co Ltd's cut will remain smaller thanthose of other major refiners. It will reduce processing by about three per cent, after a cut of about two per cent in October-December, a company official said.

Idemitsu Kosan Ltd last week announced it would cut its January crude processing by about 10 per cent year-on-year, with a tentative plan to extend the reduction on a similar scale to the end of March.