re: #98 Varek Raith

Speaking of the Great East Honshu Earthquake, from today’s news:

Japan, not Iran, may be oil market’s focus in April-Campbell

The showdown between Iran and the West over Tehran’s nuclear program remains the overarching risk facing oil markets but in the near term, nuclear power in Japan may well become the short term focus for traders.

The near total shutdown of Japan’s nuclear power industry since last year’s devastating earthquake and tsunami turned the Japanese electricity sector into a surprise source of oil demand growth in Asia last year.

Japanese utilities have turned to low sulfur fuel oil and sweet crude oil as they scramble to meet power demand, outbidding regional refiners for some crude grades.

Only one of the country’s 54 reactors remains operational and this plant is slated to shut down for a scheduled inspection and maintenance in May.

[…]

and:

Japan Oil Imports for Power Surge as South Sudan Supply Is Lost

Japan lost oil supplies from South Sudan, even as its total crude purchases for generating power surged because of the need to replace electricity from idle atomic reactors.

The country imported 1.75 million kiloliters of oil, or about 369,000 barrels a day, for power generation in February, more than four times as much as a year ago, according to data today from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Imports for power generation were up 15 percent from January. February’s purchases for power plants accounted for 9.6 percent of Japan’s total crude imports of 17.76 million kiloliters for the month, according to the trade ministry data.

The increase comes amid a halt in supplies of low-sulfur crude from South Sudan, which is suitable for many oil-fired generators in Japan.

[…]