Japanese liquefied natural gas demand will dive by 17% or 15 million tons in five years to below 80 million tons a year as more nuclear reactors are restarted, said a top executive of Tokyo Gas on Monday. "Last fiscal year, the imported volume of LNG was 89 million tons. By 2020, that demand could be reduced," said Shigeru Muraki, executive advisor of Japan's top gas utility on the sidelines of the Singapore International Energy Week, Reuters reported. He said 15 to 20 nuclear reactors could restart in about five years. Other estimates have put the number of nuclear restarts in the next few years as low as seven. All of Japan's nuclear reactors were shut following the March 2011 tsunami disaster, with the country restarting only two as of August and October. Still, Tokyo Gas is looking to add 2-3 million tons of LNG a year to its current annual offtake of 13 million tons as the company expects demand from its own customer base to increase, Muraki said.
