GLNG: Japan’s LNG imports set to fall with relaunch of nuclear reactors

LNG imports by the world’s top buyer are set to drop in 2023 as Japan reboots nuclear reactors in order to address its energy shortage, Reuters reported on August 3.

Utility Kansai Electric Power Company will relaunch the 826-MW No.2 reactor at its Takahama nuclear facility on September 15. With the No.1 reactor having been restarted in late July, by mid-September the company’s flagship nuclear power plant (NPP) will be operating at full capacity for the first time since 2011, the year the Fukushima disaster struck the country.

With a handful of nuclear reactors being relaunched, combined with increased use of renewable energy, analysts predict that Japan’s LNG imports could drop by about 10% in 2023.