Nuke shortfall forces Japan to burn more fuels

Japan's utilities burned 200,000 bpd more crude and 136,000 bpd more low-sulphur fuel oil in October than a year earlier to compensate for the loss of nuclear power capacity.

Only 11 of Japan's 54 nuclear reactors are operating, forcing the world's third-largest importer of oil and top
importer of liquefied natural gas to use even more of those fuels to generate power to plug the nuclear shortfall.   

Data from the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan showed that its 10 utilities consumed 216,500 bpd, equivalent to 6.7 million barrels or 1.07 million kilolitres, of crude last month, compared with only 16,000 bpd the year before.

Fuel oil consumption reached 189,000 bpd, up from 54,000 bpd. They also burned the equivalent of 3.90 million tonnes of LNG last month, compared with 2.97 million tonnes a year earlier.

Coal use at power plants declined 1 percent as some quake-damaged coal-fired facilities remained shut.

The prolonged crisis at Tepco's Fukushima Daiichi plant has stirred fears about nuclear safety, leaving local governments wary about granting approvals to restart reactors taken offline for maintenance.       

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