Kuwait’s crude oil exports to Japan decreased by 22.2% in May compared to the same month last year. Exports reached 4.23 million barrels, or 137,000 bpd, marking the second consecutive monthly decline.
Japan is the world’s third-largest oil consumer. According to a report by Japan’s Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, overall crude oil imports increased in May for the first time in two months, at 13.9% year-on-year to 2.40 million bpd.
Though the Middle East accounted for 90.5% of the total, imports were down 4.8% in May from a year earlier. Kuwait ranked as Japan’s fourth-largest crude oil supplier at 5.7% of Japan’s total imports, down from 8.3% in May 2024. Saudi Arabia and the UAE were neck-and-neck as Japan’s top oil supplier, with Saudi at 981,000 bpd (29.3% year-on-year increase) and the UAE close behind at 980,000 bpd, up 0.6%.
Shipments from the United States were 189,000 bpd, while Qatar came in fifth with 63,000 bpd.
