Kuwait’s crude oil exports to Japan in November grew 17.4 percent from a year earlier to 7.35 million barrels, or 245,000 barrels per day (bpd), for the third consecutive monthly expansion, government data showed.

As Japan’s third-biggest oil provider, Kuwait supplied 8.7 percent of its total crude imports, the Japanese Natural Resources and Energy Agency said in a preliminary report.

Japan’s overall imports of crude oil in November rose 21.8 percent year-on-year to 2.81 million bpd, up for the fourth straight month.

Shipments from the Middle East accounted for 91.7 percent of the total, down 1.3 percentage points from the year before. Saudi Arabia remained Japan’s No.1 oil supplier, with imports from the kingdom increasing 7.7 percent from a year earlier to 1.08 million bpd, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 1.06 million bpd, up 67.7 percent. Qatar ranked fourth with 139,000 bpd and Russia fifth with 122,000 bpd, respectively.

Japan is the world’s-third biggest oil consumer after China and the US.

Source: Kuwait News Agency