Japanese disasters boost Norwegian natural gas income

Norway stands to gain big time as the price of gas soars.

The price of natural gas on the world market has risen markedly in the wake of the earthquake, tsunami and  serious problems with the nuclear power plants in Japan.

The reason? The electricity must be replaced by gas, at least in the short term.

The Norwegian state therefore stands to earn several billion U.S. dollars extra on the production of natural gas, experts say.

Gas prices on the European market have doubled, says Bayerngas market analyst Lill Sandvik.

In addition to the disasters in Japan, Australian coal mines were flooded last December, increasing the cost of coal and electricity from coal-fired plants.

Source: NRK/Aftenposten/The Norway Post