The main impact of the latest earthquake disaster will be a surge in Japan's LNG imports as the country looks to replace lost nuclear power generation with gas. This can be a lengthy process: following the July 2007 earthquake, all seven units of the Kariwa nuclear power plant were shut down, with the first restarting two years later in May 2009 following rigorous inspections. According to a Wall Street Journal in 2007, the closure of Kariwa created a need for increased gas imports of around 13.8bn cubic metres (bcm) for the power generation system. The latest disaster is likely to significantly boost imports of LNG at much higher levels than in 2007 because the damage to nuclear facilities appears to be more widespread. Additionally, there will be a substantial increase in refined product imports as Japan seeks to replace lost refining capacity at a time of high fuels demand from the military and the emergency services. Because of the the fires at various refineries and tank farms and the long time needed to rebuild these. Also even apparently undamaged refineries are likely to be shut for some time due to technical examination and reinspection.
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