Kuwait’s crude oil exports to China hit record high – Oil minister lauds KPI expansion in Italy, European markets
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TOKYO, Oct 23, (KUNA): Kuwait’s crude oil exports to China jumped 49.5 percent in September from a year earlier to record high of 1.75 million tons, equivalent to around 427,000 barrels per day (bpd), latest government data showed.
Volume of Kuwaiti crude oil shipments to China marked the highest level since state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) opened its Beijing office in 2005, virtually the highest on record, according to figures released from the General Administration of Customs. In the January-September period, Kuwait exported 1.08 million tons, or 290,000 bpd, to the world’s second-largest oil consumer, up 55.2 percent on the year.
KPC signed a 10-year landmark crude supply agreement with China’s top energy trader Unipec in August 2014, which enables KPC to provide it with 300, 000 bpd of crude oil, with a strong possibility of increasing the volume to 400,000 bpd.
China’s overall imports of crude oil last month grew 1.4 percent on the year to 27.95 million (6.83 million bpd). Russia overtook Saudi Arabia to secure the top spot for the second time this year, as its shipments grew 42.3 percent to a record 988,000 bpd, while those from Saudi Arabia declined 16.6 percent to 966,000 bpd.
Oman became third, increasing 17.6 percent to 774,000 bpd. Angola ranked fourth and Iraq fifth, respectively.
According to the “Short-Term Energy and Winter Fuels Outlook” report issued earlier this month by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), China continues to be the main driver of non-Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) oil consumption growth, despite the slowdown in the country’s economic growth. China’s consumption growth is expected to average 0. 3 million bpd in 2015 and in 2016, the EIA, the statistical agency within the Department of Energy, projects.
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ROME: Kuwait’s Minister of Oil and Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs Dr Ali Al-Omair commended the expansion of Kuwait Petroleum Inter-national (KPI) in Italy and the European markets, and its success in boosting relations with the European Union.
Al-Omair made the statement during a visit to the headquarters of the Kuwait Petroleum Italia (Q8) in Rome. He was accompanied by Kuwait’s Ambassador to Italy Sheikh Ali Khaled Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
The minister met with the company’s staff and listened to their practical experiments, stressing their role in developing and growing the company.
Al-Omair also visited some stations of KPI in Pomezia, south of the capital.
He expressed his pride in the accomplishments of the KPC, represented in the KPI, at the oil markets of the European Union, thanking the KPI for its role in maximizing the added value of Kuwait hydrocarbon resources through refining and global marketing operations, and its contributions in maintaining solid relations with EU countries.
It is Al-Omair’s first visit to the company in Italy, but he visited the company’s operations in the Dutch city of The Hague last year, where he was briefed on expansion of retail and distribution in Europe and the Netherlands.
Ambassador Ali AL-Khaled stressed, in a statement to KUNA, the importance of the KPC and its branch in Italy as an example of Kuwait’s successful long-term investment strategy.
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