Kuwait Remains S. Korea''s Key Crude Oil Supplier

Kuwait remained South Korea's No. 2 crude oil supplier in August, with its shipments rose 5.9 percent from a year earlier to 10.56 million barrels, or 341,000 barrels per day (bpd), according to latest data released by the state-run Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC). Kuwait provided 14.5 percent of South Korea's total crude oil imports in August, compared to a 13.2 percent share in the same month of 2010 and 13.6 percent in July.

Overall South Korea's crude oil imports last month fell 3.8 percent year-on-year to 72.77 million barrels, or 2.35 million bpd. South Korea, with its heavy industrial base, is the world's fifth-biggest oil importer. Saudi Arabia was its top crude supplier, although imports from the kingdom plunged 16.1 percent from a year earlier to 842,000 bpd. Iran became third with 264,000 bpd, up 9.7 percent, followed by the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.