Kuwait remains Japan's No.3 crude oil supplier

TOKYO, June 30 (KUNA) -- Kuwait remained Japan's third-biggest crude oil supplier in May, shipping 6.91 million barrels, or 223,000 barrels per day (bpd), government data showed Friday.
Kuwait's crude oil exports to Japan grew 10.2 percent from a year earlier, marking the first expansion in four months, the Japanese Natural Resources and Energy Agency said in a preliminary report. It supplied 8.0 percent of the Asian country's total crude imports.
Japan's overall imports of crude oil declined 16.3 percent year-on-year to 2.78 million bpd, down for the second straight month. Shipments from the Middle East accounted for 83.3 percent of the total, down 4.3 percentage points from the year before. Saudi Arabia was Japan's No.1 oil provider, but imports from the kingdom edged down 0.3 percent from a year earlier to 1.12 million bpd, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 621,000 bpd, down 28.2 percent. Russia ranked fourth with 191,000 bpd and Qatar fifth with 187,000 bpd, respectively.
Japan is the world's-third biggest oil consumer after the US and China. (end) mk.hb