Kuwait crude oil exports jump to 74.4 %

Kuwait's crude oil exports to South Korea in November surged 74.4 percent from a year earlier to 14.06 million barrels, or 469,000 barrels per day (bpd), latest data released by the state-run Korea National Oil Corporation showed. As South Korea's No. 2 supplier, Kuwait provided 17.5 percent of the Asian nation's total crude oil imports in November. In the January-November period, Kuwait boosted sales to the world's fifth-largest crude importer by 19.2 percent year-on-year to 124.13 million barrels (371,000 bpd). Overall South Korea's crude oil imports in November rose 9.5 percent on the year to 80.21 million barrels (2.67 million bpd). Saudi Arabia remained its top crude supplier, with imports from the kingdom growing 13.7 percent from a year earlier to 856,000 bpd. Qatar ranked third with 276,000 bpd, up 35.6 percent, followed by the United Arab Emirates, and Iran. South Korea resumed oil imports from Iran in October, its fifth-biggest supplier, after halting purchases in August and September in the wake of the European Union (EU) ban on insuring Iranian oil shipments. It imported 196,000 bpd of Iranian crude last month, down 29.8 percent from a year earlier. The insurance embargo, which came into force in July, is part of the EU's broader sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.