DUBAI, Sept 26, (Agencies): The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait’s oil exports fell in June, despite both backing a June 8 proposal for OPEC to raise supplies, while exports from two leading opponents of the Saudi-led plan rose, according to official data published by the Joint Data Initiative (Jodi).
Saudi Arabia, holder of most of the world’s surplus oil production capacity, followed its pledge to supply as much oil as the market needed after a Gulf OPEC push for a coordinated output increase was rejected by those unable or unwilling to increase output.
But exports by Kuwait and the UAE, which both backed the Saudi proposal to compensate for the loss of Libyan crude on global oil supplies, actually fell by 142,000 bpd and 121,000 bpd, respectively, from May to June, according to Jodi data.
Analysts forecast soaring air conditioning demand in oil-fired power plant reliant Middle Eastern countries would likely absorb a large part of any increases in production in the months that followed the acrimonious meeting, which may explain why Kuwait’s exports fell despite a 50,000 bpd rise in production from May to June.

But the UAE, which produces most of its electricity from gas, actually pumped 35,000 bpd less in June — adding to a much bigger drop in exports, according to Jodi data.
Algeria and Venezuela, who blocked the Saudi proposal to try to temper soaring oil prices by offering more crude to market, increased their exports from May to June by 100,000 bpd and 39,000 bpd, respectively.
Exports from Venezuela — which gets around 70 percent of its electricity from hydro and only around 15 percent from oil — rose in June despite a small drop in oil output, then fell in July despite a tiny increase in production.

Saudi production in June rose by sizeable 918,000 bpd above May levels, but its exports only rose by only 539,000 bpd, with Saudi summer crude demand, largely driven by air conditioning needs, absorbing about a third of the extra barrels.
But the world’s leading oil exporter then cut back production and exports by around 200,000 bpd from June to July, leaving Saudi exports for July only 350,000 bpd higher than they were before the meeting — which some analysts say was likely due to weak external demand.
As a group, although OPEC increased production by 738,000 bpd and exports by 493,000 mln bpd from May to June, cutbacks in July meant the group which accounts for about a third of global oil supply only exported about 216,000 bpd more in July than in May.
OPEC cut its forecast for demand for its oil by 100,000 bpd to 29.9 million bpd for 2011 in its latest monthly report.

Also:
TOKYO: Kuwait’s crude oil exports to China rose 6.3 percent in August from a year earlier to 864,000 tons, equivalent to around 204,000 barrels per day (bpd), the latest government data showed.
Kuwaiti share of China’s crude oil imports was 4.1 percent last month, compared to 3.9 percent in the same month of last year and 2.7 percent in July, according to the General Administration of Customs.
Kuwait’s exports in the first eight months of 2011 to China totaled 6.08 million tons (184,000 bpd), down 8.6 percent from the same period last year.

China’s overall imports of crude in August edged up 0.7 percent year-on-year to 4.98 million bpd. Saudi Arabia remained China’s top supplier although its shipments slightly falling 0.2 percent from a year earlier to 934, 000 bpd, followed by Angola with 716,000 bpd, down 24.2 percent. Iran became third with 464,000 bpd, up 0.9 percent.
The state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and China’s top refiner Sinopec jointly plan to build a 300,000 bpd refinery and petrochemical complex in the south China’s Guangdong Province.
On Sunday, Kuwaiti Minister of Oil and Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs Dr Mohammad Al-Busairi discussed in Kuwait with the Chinese delegation the latest developments of the joint project, which will go online in 2014.
The USD 9 billion oil refinery and petrochemical project is one of the pillars of KPC’s expansion strategy for 2030, the minister underlined during the meeting.