LOC10:59
07:59 GMT
(With Photo)
TOKYO, June 29 (KUNA) -- Kuwait's crude oil exports to Japan jumped 42.7
percent in May from a year earlier to 8.69 million barrels, or 280,000 barrels
per day (bpd), for the fourth consecutive monthly gain, the government said on
Friday.
Kuwait remained Japan's fourth-biggest oil supplier, last month, since
overtaking Iran in March, providing 7.8 percent of the country's total crude
imports, compared with 6.4 percent in the same month of last year and 8.3
percent in April, the Natural Resources and Energy Agency said in a
preliminary report.
Japan's overall imports of crude oil in the reporting month rose 16.0
percent year-on-year to 110.72 million barrels (3.57 million bpd) for the
fourth straight month of growth. Shipments from the Middle East stood at 2.93
million bpd and accounted for 82.0 percent of the total, down 4.5 percentage
points from a year before.
Saudi Arabia remained Japan's biggest oil supplier, with imports from the
kingdom increasing 8.6 percent from a year earlier to 1.11 million bpd,
followed by the United Arab Emirates with 707,000 bpd, down 11.1 percent.
Qatar ranked third, with shipments growing 17.1 percent to 360,000 bpd.
Indonesia became fifth with 139,000 bpd, up 21.5 percent.
Meanwhile, Japan cut crude oil imports from Iran by 51.1 percent to 128,000
bpd in line with its pledge to cooperate with US financial sanctions targeting
Iran's nuclear program.
Japan, the second-largest importer of Iranian crude after China, imported
about 9 percent of its oil from Iran in 2011.
The Japanese parliament last week approved a bill to allow the government
to provide insurance cover up to a value of USD 7.6 billion for each tanker
carrying Iranian crude bound for Japan.
The legislation enables the world's No.3 oil consumer to continue importing
Iranian oil even after new European Union (EU) sanctions against Iran take
effect in July, which will ban insurance firms of EU countries from covering
Iran's exports.
Resources-poor is in need of more energy from abroad as all of its 50
workable nuclear reactors are currently idled due to safety concerns in the
wake of the radiation accident in March 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
power plant, which was triggered by the massive earthquake and tsunami. (end)
mk.rk
KUNA 291059 Jun 12NNNN