KUNA reported that Kuwait's crude oil exports to Japan in January stood at 6.33 million barrels or 204,000 barrels per day down 11.7% from a year earlier.

According to the latest official data, as Japan's fifth biggest oil provider last month, Kuwait supplied 5.2% of the country's total crude imports compared with 5.8% in the same month of 2011.

The Japanese Natural Resources and Energy Agency said that Kuwait's exports to Japan in the full year 2011 totaled 87.05 million barrels or 238,000 barrels per day.

Japan's overall imports of crude oil edged down 1.9% YoY to 3.94 million barrels per day for the third straight month of fall. Shipments from the Middle East shrank 6.9% to 3.25 million barrels per day and accounted for 82.6% 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% from a year earlier to 1.32 million barrels per day followed by the United Arab Emirates with 849,000 barrels per day down 8.0%. Iran ranked third with 339,000 barrels per day down 22.5% and Qatar became fourth with 316,000 barrels per day down 32.6%.

Source - KUNA

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