A+ A-

Kuwait's crude oil exports to Japan down 1st time in 3 months

TOKYO, March 31 (KUNA) -- Kuwait's crude oil exports to Japan in February fell 8.0 percent from a year earlier to 7.50 million barrels, or 259,000 barrels per day (bpd), for the first decline in three months, government data showed Tuesday.
As Japan's fourth-biggest oil provider, Kuwait supplied 9.0 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 slid 3.8 percent year-on-year to 2.87 million bpd, shrinking for the second straight month. Shipments from the Middle East accounted for 89.3 percent of the total, down 0.8 percentage points from the year before.
The United Arab Emirates came back to Japan's No.1 oil supplier, with imports from the country surging 33.3 percent from a year earlier to 1.02 million bpd, followed by Saudi Arabia with 962,000 bpd, down 13.4 percent. Qatar ranked third with 292,000 bpd and Russia fifth with 87,000 bpd, respectively.
Resource-poor Japan is the world's-third biggest oil consumer after China and the US, relying on imports for virtually all of its oil, gas and coal. (end) mk.hb