Kuwait's crude oil exports to Japan down 3rd month

TOKYO, Sept 1 (KUNA) -- Kuwait's crude oil exports to Japan fell 8 percent in July from a year earlier to 5.93 million barrels, or 191,000 barrels per day (bpd), down for the third straight month, government data showed. As Japan's sixth-biggest oil provider, Kuwait supplied 6.1 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 declined 8.5 percent year-on-year to 3.14 million bpd for the first drop in four months. Shipments from the Middle East accounted for 85.4 percent of the total, up 1.5 percentage points from a year before.
Saudi Arabia remained Japan's No.1 oil supplier, but imports from the kingdom dropped 6.1 percent from a year earlier to 1.06 million bpd, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 821,000 bpd, down 22.6 percent. Qatar was next at 258,000 bpd, up 9.5 percent. Iran ranked fourth with 256,000 bpd and Mexico fifth with 193,000 bpd, respectively. Japan is the world's third biggest oil consumer after the US and China, importing virtually all its fossil fuels.(end) mk.ag