Kuwait crude oil exports to South Korea down 13%

Kuwait's crude oil exports to South Korea in August fell 13.0 percent from a year earlier to 9.76 million barrels, or 315, 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 13.9 percent of South Korea's total crude oil imports last month. In the January-August period, Kuwait increased sales to the world's fifth-largest crude importer by 1.6 percent year-on-year to 91.63 million barrels (377,000 bpd). Overall South Korea's crude oil imports in August fell 12.6 percent on the year to 76.32 million barrels (2.27 million bpd). Saudi Arabia remained its top crude supplier, although imports from the kingdom shrank 7.9 percent from a year earlier to 802,000 bpd. The United Arab Emirates ranked third with 307,000 bpd, up 50.8 percent, followed by Qatar and Iran. In their talks earlier this month in Seoul, Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Oil Mustafa Al-Shimali and South Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick agreed to expand bilateral energy cooperation between the two countries beyond crude oil trading, such as refinery and petrochemical projects