Moody’s lists A-Pac beneficiaries of displaced energy demand

Japan’s nuclear disaster will spur a rebalancing of the energy market in Asia-Pacific, increasing demand for liquefied natural gas LNG, supporting crude oil prices and raising refining margins, says Moody’s Investors Service.

The rating agency has listed regional energy companies in line to benefit from displaced demand as Japan comes to rely more on non-nuclear fuel, including Australia’s upstream Woodside Petroleum, Korea’s refiner SK Innovation and Thailand’s petrochemical firm PTT Chemical.

The shutdown of Japan’s nuclear power facilities, which account for about 25% of the country’s overall power generation, has seen the prices of natural gas and LNG surge on expectations that Japan’s demand for LNG...