Page 5 - GLNG Week 18

GLNG COMMENTARY GLNG
but in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster, it has been proceeding with caution.
In January, the Hiroshima High Court imposed a temporary injunction on the oper- ation of the Ikata 3 nuclear reactor, which was taken offline in December 2019 and had been due to be returned to service in April. The court ruled that the operator, Shikoku Electric Power, had not provided sufficient guarantees that the reactor would be safe in case of earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.
In March, a reactor at the Sendai nuclear power plant (NPP) was shut down after operator Kyushu Electric Power was unable to complete anti-terrorism measures required by regulators on schedule. Meanwhile, the restart of Kansai Electric Power Co’s (KEPCO) Takahama 3 is facing delays.
According to Nikkei Asian Review, the num- ber of nuclear reactors in operation this year could be halved, falling from nine. And COVID- 19 could complicate the stuttering progress on the restart of nuclear reactors further still if workers at NPPs are infected and measures have to be taken to protect their colleagues. Indeed, construction at the Genkai NPP was temporarily suspended in April when a contractor working at plant tested positive for the virus.
Planning ahead
Disruptions could also occur at LNG receiving terminals if workers there become infected – and if crew members on arriving tankers test positive for the virus.
“A single infected person on board a ship
means that the entire crew needs to be tested and the ship needs to be sterilised, and it’s even pos- sible that the ship will be barred from docking at an LNG terminal,” an official at a major trading house was quoted by Nikkei Asian Review as saying.
Leading Japanese power generator JERA, a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) and Chubu Electric Power, is among those taking steps in anticipation of potential disruptions to LNG imports. The company has made arrangements for workers to be able to sleep at its power station in Tokyo’s Shinagawa ward if commuting via public transport becomes too much of a risk. Onshore workers are also not allowed to board LNG carriers arriving at the receiving terminal under new working proce- dures that have been adjusted to ensure uninter- rupted LNG flows.
These steps are being taken amid concerns that if the power plants in the Tokyo Bay area were forced to stop as a result of COVID-19-re- lated disruptions, the Greater Tokyo area would immediately lose its power supply.
JERA operates many of the Tokyo Bay power plants, all of which run on LNG and account for around 30% of Japan’s total LNG-fuelled power generation. The figure underscores the impor- tance of stable LNG supplies to Japan’s power generation picture.
COVID-19 continues to test countries in a variety of different ways. Japan will now be hop- ing that among other challenges presented by the virus, its ability to handle LNG supply disrup- tions will not need to be put to the test.™
Disruptions could also occur at LNG receiving terminals if workers there become infected.
Week 18 08•May•2020 w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m
P5