Kuwait's crude oil exports to Japan up 33.7 percent

TOKYO, Nov 1 (KUNA) -- Kuwait's crude oil exports to Japan in September surged 33.7 percent from a year earlier to 6.83 million barrels, or 228,000 barrels per day (bpd), up for the second straight month, government data showed. As Japan's fifth-biggest oil provider, Kuwait supplied 7.0 percent of the Asian nation's total crude imports, the Japanese Natural Resources and Energy Agency said in a preliminary report. Japan's overall imports of crude oil edged down 0.8 percent year-on-year to 3.24 million bpd for the third consecutive month of fall.
Shipments from the Middle East accounted for 87.1 percent of the total, up 3.4 percentage points from the year before.
Saudi Arabia remained Japan's No.1 oil supplier, but imports from the kingdom declined 8.4 percent from a year earlier to 1.03 million bpd, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 834,000 bpd, up 1.4 percent. Qatar ranked third with 320,000 bpd and Iran fourth with 313,000 bpd, respectively.
Japan is the world's-third biggest oil consumer after the US and China, importing virtually all its fossil fuels.(end) mk.tg