Japan Quake Boosts Gas Prices On LNG Demand Prospects

On Friday, March 11, Japan was rocked by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, resulting in a tsunami hitting the east coast near Sendai. As well as its appalling human impact, the disaster knocked out 20% of the country’s nuclear capacity, which supplies 30% of Japan’s power generation needs. The impact of the disaster was felt worst in the northeast of the main Honshu Island. As Japanese utilities crank up their thermal generation capacity to compensate for the loss of nuclear power, LNG markets are bracing themselves for a flurry of trading activity. Download here