Kuwait’s crude oil exports to Japan down

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Tokyo’s overall imports of oil grow 7.1 pct y/y

TOKYO, July 3, (KUNA): Kuwait’s crude oil exports to Japan fell 8.9 percent in May from a year earlier to 6.30 million barrels, or 203,000 barrels per day (bpd), for the first decline in two months, government data showed. As Japan’s fifth-biggest oil provider, Kuwait supplied 6.8 percent of the Asian nation’s total crude imports, compared with 8.0 percent in the same month of last year, the Japanese Natural Resources and Energy Agency said in a preliminary report. Japan’s overall imports of crude oil grew 7.1 percent yearon- year to 2.98 million bpd for the first gain in two months. Shipments from the Middle East accounted for 89.9 percent of the total, up 6.6 percentage points from a year before.

Saudi Arabia continued to be Japan’s No.1 oil supplier, with imports from the kingdom edging up 1.0 percent from a year earlier to 1.14 million bpd, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 618,000 bpd, down 0.6 percent. Qatar ranked fourth with 275,000 bpd and Iran fourth with 211000 bpd, respectively. Japan is the world’s-third biggest oil consumer after the US and China. Meanwhile, Kuwait’s Oil Minister and Minister of Electricity and Water Bakheet Al-Rasheedi announced Monday that Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) exported its first light crude high quality oil shipment.

“This achievement is considered the fruit of a continuous cooperation between Kuwait oil companies and the world’s marketing sector, and this is a historical step in the oil industry of Kuwait,” said the Minister in a statement to KUNA. “It is an important step in strengthening Kuwait’s status among oil exporting countries in the world and to reinforce local economy, especially that this light crude oil is in high demand worldwide at this time,” Al-Rasheedi noted.

“This move summarizes all big efforts of KPC and its subsidiaries to accomplish this achievement for the Kuwaiti oil industry,” he pointed out. Light crude oil has a low density and flows freely at room temperature. It generally has a low wax content, and receives a higher price than heavy crude oil on commodity markets because it produces a higher percentage of gasoline and diesel fuel when converted into products by refineries.

The price of OPEC’s 14-crude basket moved down 41 cents to reach USD 75.28 per barrel on Monday against USD 75.69 pb on Friday, the organization news bulletin said on Tuesday. The annual rate for OPEC basket for the last year rated USD 52.43 pb, the bulletin noted. OPEC’s Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

Ministers and officials from member states of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and others from outside the bloc agreed, at a meeting in Vienna last Saturday, on upholding an agreement among the OPEC ministers at their 174th meeting to increase crude output by one million barrels per day.

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