Nuclear Power Crisis May Be ‘Landmark’ for LNG Tankers, Mirae Asset Says

[phantom power]

Renewed concerns about atomic power triggered by an earthquake and nuclear crisis in Japan may spur orders for $202 million liquefied-natural gas tankers already in short supply, according to Mirae Asset Securities Co.

“The earthquake is a landmark event for the shipbuilding industry,” Lee Sokje, a Seoul-based Mirae analyst, said today. “Demand for LNG is going to grow as a source of alternative energy, which could lead to a shortage of vessels. There’s already not a lot available.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-21/japan-s-nuclear-crisis-may-be-landmark-for-lng-tanker-orders-mirae-says.html

[Marblehead]

1. wait till one of those

blow up! It'll be huge

[AtheistCrusader]

5. It'll be a very short-lived emergency though.

SO I suppose it has it's upside.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. In a port that focuses the energy no less

Still on the upside you do not have a few other issues.

I prefer we move to things like distributive models, such as solar and rooftops.

[AlecBGreen]

2. LNG is now "alternative energy" ?

:crazy:

[GliderGuider]

3. "Alternative" to nuclear perhaps

It's strongly tied to wind power right now, though. Every wind turbine that replaces any coal or nuclear power brings with it a requirement for NG to smooth out the power delivery profile.

[FBaggins]

4. Just trying to gin up new business. They were already due to get new orders.

US gas producers need some way to export a glut of natural gas, but tankers aren't the only problem... we don't have the right export facilities.

Comparing the difference between US gas prices and the rest of the world, this was almost guranteed long before the earthquake.

[Statistical]

7. Part of the reason we have no export facilities was because until

the belief was that we would run out of natural gas and need to import LNG from other countries.

The discovery of Barnett Shale and other changed all that.

[GliderGuider]

8. Frackin' eh!!!

I'd trade you all my drinking water for some natural gas!

[Statistical]

9. I am not saying it is a good thing but you can't put the genie back into the bottle.

Unless you outlaw it they will frack it.

Barnett Shale may have up to 30 trillion cubic feet of gas. At $4 per 1000 cu ft wellhead price that is $12B. Not all profit but $12B is still $12B.

[FBaggins]

10. At $4, they don't make much...

...but if they can get LNG export capability, the price will climb back to the high single digits. Possibly higher if oil prices continue to climb over the coming years.

[Statistical]

11. Wonder who is going to build the ports.

I own some stock in BWP. They operate pipelines. They own no natural gas just collect a transit fee connecting wells to consumers. I wonder if some entity will emerge like that. A company (maybe even a company who owns pipelines now) that owns the port facility and collects a transit fee. Huge capital risk to build a port though.

[GliderGuider]

13. I wouldn't mind seeing an NG company CEO in a tumbrel.

That might put a stop to it...

Just sayin'.

[dbackjon]

12. Clean, safe NG...NOT

Fracking - horrid practice