Kuwait's crude oil exports to China fall 36.6 %

Kuwait's crude oil exports to China fell 36.6 percent in July from a year earlier to 524,000 tons, equivalent to around 124, 000 barrels per day (bpd), Chinese government data showed. Kuwaiti share of China's crude oil imports was 2.7 percent last month, compared to 4.3 percent in the same month of last year and 3.8 percent in June, according to data released from the General Administration of Customs. Kuwait's exports in the first seven months of 2011 to China totaled 5.22 million tons (181,000 bpd), down 10.7 percent from the same period last year. Meanwhile, Kuwait was the fourth-biggest supplier of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for China in July, providing 12.1 percent of the nation's total LPG imports. China's overall imports of crude oil in July rose 2.3 percent year-on-year to 4.60 million bpd. Saudi Arabia remained China's top supplier with its shipments edging up 1.1 percent from a year earlier to 976,000 bpd, followed by Iran with 650,000 bpd, up 35.1 percent. Angola became third, with imports from the country falling 16. 1 percent to 450,000 bpd. State-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and the Beijing-based Sinopec jointly plan to build a USD 9 billion oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Zhanjiang city in south China's Guangdong Province. The construction works are due to start next year and complete by 2014, KPC said in June. The mega project, which includes a 300,000 bpd refinery, ethylene cracker with the capacity of one million ton per year and a retail network in the province, will pave the way for OPEC-member Kuwait to achieve its China-bound crude oil export target of 500,000 bpd.