KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait’s crude oil exports to Japan jumped 11.7 percent in October from a year earlier to 6.62 million barrels, or 214,000 barrels per day (bpd), up for the third consecutive month, government data showed Wednesday.
Kuwait overtook Iran to become Japan’s fourth-biggest oil provider last month, supplying 7.0 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 declined 2.1 percent year-on-year to 3.06 million bpd the fourth consecutive month of fall. Shipments from the Middle East accounted for 87.0 percent of the total, up 10.0 percentage points from a year before.
Saudi Arabia remained Japan’s No.1 oil supplier, with imports from the kingdom surging 19.4 percent from a year earlier to 1.26 million bpd, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 688,000 bpd, down 1.3 percent.
Qatar ranked third with 219,000 bpd and Iran fifth with 202,000 bpd, respectively. State-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) announced on Nov. 24 that Kuwait’s crude oil exporting contracts with Japan have recently increased 28 percent.
The achievement is so significant in light of current circumstances and challenges faced by the world oil market, KPC said in a press statement, pointing out its solid ties with its clients in Tokyo that led to the surge in Kuwaiti oil exports in the past five years.
