LNG Market May Tighten on Japanese Nuclear Shutdown, SocGen Says
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Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s nuclear shutdown may exacerbate tightness in the global liquefied natural gas market as demand for the fuel used in electricity generation has exceeded estimates, Societe Generale SA said.
Kyushu’s 1,180-megawatt No. 4 reactor at its Genkai atomic plant shut down automatically yesterday after a malfunction, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Global LNG supply rose 14 percent in the first seven months of this year to about 140 million metric tons, compared with the bank’s full-year forecast of more than 10 percent growth, Thierry Bros, a Paris-based analyst for the bank, said.