Japan's Kyushu Electric ups Q3 oil, gas buy by 44 pct

TOKYO May 29 (Reuters) - Japanese utility Kyushu Electric Power said it expected to buy 2.6 million kilolitres, or 16.4 million barrels, of oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) equivalent in the July-September quarter, up 44 percent from a year earlier, as all its nuclear plants had been shut following the Fukushima disaster.

All six reactors at the firm's two nuclear plants have been closed, with no definite schedule for restarts. The company did not give the breakdown of its fuel requirements, but a spokesman said it is trying very hard to fill its fuel needs.

Kyushu said in February it would nearly triple the volumes of oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) it planned to buy in the peak winter December-March period to 3.53 million kilolitres (22.2 million barrels) of oil equivalent.

(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori)