Kuwait’s crude oil exports to Japan rose 4.1% in November 2013 from 2012 to 6.27 million barrels, or 209,000 barrels per day (bpd). This was the first increase in two months, according to Kuwait News Agency, KUNA.
KUNA, quoted the Japanese Natural Resources and Energy Agency as saying, in a preliminary report, that as Japan’s fifth-biggest oil provider, Kuwait supplied 5.6% of the nation’s total crude imports, compared with 6.1% in the same month last year.
Japan’s overall imports of crude oil grew 13.3% year-on-year to 111.64 million barrels (3.72 million bpd) the first gain in two months. Shipments from the Middle East accounted for 85.9% of the total, up 4.4 percentage points from a year before.
Saudi Arabia remains in the top spot, with imports from the kingdom rising 13.5% from a year earlier to 1.28 million bpd, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 966,000 bpd, up 33.8%. Qatar ranked third with 447, 000 bpd and Russia fourth with 240,000 bpd, respectively.
