Over three months have now passed since the earthquake that devastated Japan. In various ways, the industrial field has started out on the road to recovery. Signs of a change have also appeared in the gas market, The Gas Review (TGR) reports.
Production of optical fibre in the region is currently in full operation. In the Tohoku and Kanto areas, hit by the earthquake and tsunami, the optical fibre so important for the communications network was seriously affected and disrupted. Restoring the information and telecommunications networks based on optical fibre is seen as a significant priority and the major optical fibre producers have made arrangements for increased production.
In terms of gases, hydrogen, helium, oxygen and nitrogen are used in the optical fibre industry; a spike in optical fibre production could potentially correlate with an increase in usage of these gases.
Further still, the actual measures taken to restore infrastructure and reinforce this infrastructure in the wake of the earthquake is driving gas demand too, as had been largely expected. The demand for thick plate steel and all types of steel material, linked to strengthening bridge supports and supplementing the strength of buildings, is said to be thriving. With oxygen used heavily in the steel industry, this is also of significance.
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