FACTBOX: What $100 oil means for other energy prices

(Reuters) - An oil rally which took prices to a record $100 a barrel on Wednesday has knock-on effects for the price of all sources of energy.

The following is a summary of what expensive oil means for other kinds of fuel.

GAS

Long-term gas contracts can be priced off oil products, so strength in oil pushes up gas prices. Britain, like the United States, is a liberalized gas market, but some gas contracts are still priced off oil products and in Europe most are.

The flow of gas from Britain to continental Europe exaggerates the impact.

On the British gas market, gas for delivery in the first quarter of 2010 posted the strongest gains, rising 8.40 pence to 60.20 pence per therm by midday on Thursday, according to one broker.

ELECTRICITY

Gas is often used in generating power, so higher gas prices in turn push up power contracts, especially for later delivery.

COAL

Coal can replace oil-fired power generation and therefore expensive oil can be supportive of coal prices, which hit records above the $100 a tonne threshold late last year and have remained strong.

OIL PRODUCTS

Oil products, such as gasoline and diesel, have followed crude prices higher, but the gains have been less spectacular than on crude, meaning the profits made by refiners have been eroded.

NUCLEAR POWER

The more expensive oil becomes, the more competitive nuclear power is.

According to the Paris-based Nuclear Energy Agency, nuclear energy is competitive when oil prices are anything above $40-to $45 a barrel.

The cost of uranium has also been rising, but it represents only around 5 percent of the total cost of generating nuclear power, whereas gas represents around three quarters of the cost of gas-generated power.