When one thinks about low-sul fur markets, Japan certainly comes to mind first, with the utilities playing a key market role. A key question for us to evaluate is what level of demand is expected for loW-sulfur materials out of Japan, both in the short and long term. Despite edicts from MITI stating that dependence on oil in general will be reduced, petroleum demand from the utilities (as the key low-sul fur customer) grew substantially during 1988: crude oil demand for direct burning arew by about 24%, while fuel oil demand expanded by over 16%.