Cold Snap Prompts Fuel Oil Frenzy in Power-Starved Asia
- Freeze to lift global oil demand at least 1m b/d: Goldman
- Japan’s refiners asked to supply more fuel oil to utilities
This article is for subscribers only.
Asian utilities are snapping up prompt supplies of fuel oil -- an emergency backstop for natural gas -- as power demand surges across the region due to a winter freeze.
Power generators in Japan such as Tohoku Electric Power Co. recently bought several cargoes of low-sulfur fuel oil for the purpose of direct burning, said traders who asked not to be identified. These supplies can be used in oil-fired power plants, which are typically left in an idled state and utilized only when gas-fed facilities have been maximized.