Kuwait's crude oil exports to Japan jump 19.2 pct

TOKYO, Sept 5 (KUNA) -- Kuwait's crude oil exports to Japan jumped 19.2 percent in July from a year earlier to 7.06 million barrels, or 228,000 barrels per day (bpd), up for the third straight month, government data showed.
As Japan's fourth-biggest oil provider, Kuwait supplied 6.8 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 grew 6.5 percent year-on-year to 3.35 million bpd for the first expansion in three months. Shipments from the Middle East accounted for 84.5 percent of the total, up 0.9 percentage points from the year before.
Saudi Arabia remained Japan's No.1 oil supplier, with imports from the kingdom surging 26.1 percent from a year earlier to 1.34 million bpd, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 698,000 bpd, up 1.7 percent. Qatar was next at 263,000 bpd, up 20.7 percent, while Russia ranked fifth with 218,000 bpd, up 20.7 percent. Japan is the world's-third biggest oil consumer after China and the US, relying on imports for virtually all all its fossil fuels. (end) mk.gta