Kuwait Crude Oil Exports to S. Korea up 6.8 Pct

Kuwait's crude oil exports to South Korea in September grew 6.8 percent from a year earlier to 11.29 million barrels, or 376,000 barrels per day (bpd), data released by the state-run Korea National Oil Corporation showed. As South Korea's No. 2 supplier, Kuwait provided 14.4 percent of the Asian nation's total crude oil imports in September, compared to a 13.1 percent share in the same month of 2011.

In the January-September period, Kuwait boosted sales to the world's fifth-largest crude importer by 35.0 percent year-on-year to 100.87 million barrels (368,000 bpd). Overall South Korea's crude oil imports in September fell 2.8 percent on the year to 78.36 million barrels (2.61 million bpd).

Saudi Arabia remained its top crude supplier, although imports from the kingdom shrank 5.5 percent from a year earlier to 788,000 bpd. Qatar ranked third with 346,000 bpd, up 19.3 percent, followed by the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia.

South Korea's purchase of Iranian oil in September was zero for the second consecutive month, compared with 295,000 bpd from a year earlier, in the wake of the European Union (EU) ban on insuring Iranian oil shipments. The insurance embargo, which came into force on July 1, is part of the EU's broader sanctions against Iran for its nuclear programs.