LNG Tanker Charts Shortcut to Asia
►http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324020804578150563502056032.html
By ERIC YEP
A Norwegian tanker full of natural gas is scheduled to deliver to Japan after traveling through the Arctic Ocean. The WSJ’s Ken Brown explains how this route will change the way people sell gas.
A tanker full of chilled natural gas is about to complete a trip through the Arctic Ocean to Asia, as a combination of climate change, the shale-gas revolution and the earthquake in Japan opens a potentially disruptive trade route.
The tanker Ob River is scheduled to deliver a cargo of Norwegian gas to energy-starved Japan on Tuesday after traveling from Norway through the Arctic above Russia. The trip takes three weeks less than it would if the gas took its normal route though the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal and around Asia.