Kuwait oil exports to S Korea surpass 11.2 million barrels

Kuwait's crude oil exports to South Korea in August rose 6.2 percent from a year earlier to 11.21 million barrels, or 362, 000 barrels per day (bpd), according to latest data released by the state-run Korea National Oil Corporation. As South Korea's No. 2 supplier, Kuwait supplied 13.9 percent of the Asian nation's total crude oil imports last month, compared to a 14.6 percent share in the same month of 2011. In the January-August period, Kuwait boosted sales to the world's fifth-largest crude importer by 33.0 percent year-on-year to 89.58 million barrels (367,000 bpd). Overall, South Korea's crude oil imports last month rose 11.2 percent on the year to 80.46 million barrels (2.60 million bpd). Saudi Arabia remained its top crude supplier, with imports from the kingdom jumping 27.1 percent from a year earlier to 870,000 bpd. Qatar ranked third with 275,000 bpd, up 55. 0 percent, followed by the United Arab Emirates. South Korea's purchase of Iranian oil fell to zero last month, compared with 264,000 bpd in August 2011, in the wake of the European Union (EU) ban on insuring Iranian oil shipments. The insurance embargo, which came into force on July 1, is part of the EU's broader sanctions against Iran for its nuclear programs.