Japan is consuming the most oil in four years as it runs out of capacity to use liquefied natural gas as a stopgap for idled nuclear power plants.
Utilities are burning about 400,000 barrels a day, more than at any time since 2008, after more than doubling use of crude last year, according to Deutsche Bank AG. LNG can meet about two-thirds of the nation's electricity needs when all its nuclear reactors are offline, government data and forecasts from the Institute for Energy Economics show.
Japan, turning to alternative sources of energy as it continues to grapple with last year's Fukushima No. 1 nuclear disaster, is boosting its reliance on oil at a time when supply concerns from Sudan to Iran are already roiling markets. Brent crude has jumped 16 percent this year to trade near a three-year high, stoking speculation governments will be forced to release oil from emergency stockpiles.
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