Kuwait’s Crude Oil Exports to Japan Top 200,000 Bpd

Kuwait's crude oil exports to Japan in January stood at 6.33 million barrels, or 204,000 barrels per day (bpd), down 11.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the latest official data.

As Japan's fifth-biggest oil provider last month, Kuwait supplied 5.2 percent of the country's total crude imports, compared with 5.8 percent in the same month of 2011, the Japanese Natural Resources and Energy Agency said in a preliminary report. Kuwait's exports to Japan in the full year 2011 totaled 87.05 million barrels, or 238,000 bpd.

Japan's overall imports of crude oil edged down 1.9 percent year-on-year to 3.94 million bpd for the third straight month of fall. Shipments from the Middle East shrank 6.9 percent to 3.25 million bpd, and accounted for 82.6 percent of the total, down 4.5 percentage points from the year before.

Saudi Arabia seized the top spot, with exports from the kingdom jumping 19. 6 percent from a year earlier to 1.32 million bpd, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 849,000 bpd, down 8.0 percent. Iran ranked third with 339,000 bpd, down 22.5 percent, and Qatar became fourth with 316,000 bpd, down 32.6 percent.

In his speech at a reception in Tokyo to celebrate Kuwait's national days earlier this week, Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yukio Edano expressed gratitude to Kuwait for maintaining a stable supply of crude oil to resources-poor Japan, the world's third-largest energy consumer.