KUWAIT: Kuwait’s crude oil exports to China in July hit a three-month high of 1.25 million tons, equivalent to 296,000 barrels per day (bpd), up 13.3 percent from a year earlier, official data showed. The figure was the highest since April, when Kuwait’s crude shipments to the world’s second-biggest energy consumer recorded 1.62 million tons (395,000 bpd), according to the General Administration of Customs.
In the January-July period, Kuwait exported 282,000 bpd to China, up 64.4 percent on the year. China’s overall imports of crude oil in July jumped 29.3 percent from a year earlier to 7.26 million bpd. Saudi Arabia remained country’s top supplier, with its shipments growing 12.1 percent to 993,000 bpd, followed by Angola with 906,000 bpd, up 36.1 percent. Russia became third, with exports from the country surging 59.4 percent to 891,000 bpd.
Oman ranked fourth and Iraq fifth, respectively. State-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) signed a 10-year crude supply deal with China’s top energy trader Unipec in August 2014, the biggest-ever sales contract in KPC’s history by volume and revenues in all regions. Under the landmark agreement, KPC supplies Unipec 300,000 bpd of crude oil, with a strong possibility of increasing the volume to 400,000 bpd.