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Japan energies flag supply issues as Mideast stress rise

Japanese energies have strong issues over escalating stress in the Middle East as any supply disruption in the area will have a big effect on fuel supply and prices, the head of an electrical power industry group said on Friday.

Israel launched an attack on Iranian soil on Friday, sources said, in the latest tit-for-tat exchange between the 2 nations, whose years of shadow war has actually broken out into the open and threatened to drag the area deeper into conflict.

Oil prices got on Friday as reports that Israel had assaulted Iran roiled markets and triggered issues that Middle East oil supply might be disrupted.

We have strong issues, Kingo Hayashi, chairman of Japan's federation of electric power business, informed a news conference.

If the Strait of Hormuz were to be blocked, it would significantly effect our fuel procurement in terms of both volume and cost, said Hayashi, also the president of Chubu Electric Power.

The Strait of Hormuz runs between the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman and offers an essential route for shipping.

Japan relies heavily on Middle Eastern crude, importing more than 95% of its oil from the region, but the resource-poor country has substantially lowered oil-fired power plants, however it still relies greatly on coal- and gas-fired power generation.

Higher oil costs will likely lead to soaring costs of gas and other energy, Hayashi stated, including Japan's procurement of melted natural gas (LNG) from Qatar might also be impacted in the occasion of disruption of the Strait of Hormuz.

Tohoku Electric Power, which buys LNG from Qatar, also revealed worries over the heightened Mideast tensions.

We are deeply concerned about rising fuel costs and the failure to procure fuel when we want, which might interfere with steady supply of electrical energy, Tohoku Electric President Kojiro Higuchi informed press reporters.

We are likewise fretted higher oil costs could bolster coal costs, he stated.

If LNG materials from the Mideast were to be interrupted, Tohoku Electric will have to think about purchasing area LNG and exercising its alternative to increase the volume from other LNG suppliers with whom it has long-lasting contracts, he said.

If that is still inadequate, we will shift to coal, he said.

(source: Reuters)