LOC09:09
06:09 GMT
KPC Beijing Representative Office
(With Photo) TOKYO, Sept 28 (KUNA) -- Kuwait's crude oil exports to China plunged 35.8 percent in August from a year earlier to 516,000 tons, equivalent to around 122,000 barrels per day (bpd), latest official data by the Chinese government shows.
Kuwait provided 2.9 percent of China's total crude oil imports, compared with 5.1 percent in the same month of last year and 3.1 percent in July, according to the General Administration of Customs. Kuwait's exports in the first eight months of 2009 totaled 5.19 million tons (156,000 bpd).
China's overall imports of crude oil in August rose 18.0 percent year-on-year to 18.47 million tons (4.37 million bpd). China is the world's second-largest oil consumer after the United States.
Angola came back as China's top supplier with its shipments increasing 5.7 percent from a year earlier to 3.31 million tons (783,000 bpd), followed by Saudi Arabia with 2.43 million tons (576,000 bpd), up 7.8 percent. Iran remained third, with imports from the country rising 4.5 percent to 1.96 million tons (463,000 bpd).
The planned 300,000 bpd refinery in the southwestern Guangdong Province, which is jointly owned by Kuwait and China, will be put into commercial operations as early as 2013, state-run Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) President Hussain Esmaiel said on Monday. The USD 9 billion project is expected to serve as a driving force for KPC towards achieving its China-bound crude oil export target of 500,000 bpd by 2015. (end) mk.aj KUNA 280909 Sep 09NNNN