(With Photo) TOKYO, Dec 28 (KUNA) -- Kuwait's crude oil exports to Japan rose 10.2 percent in November from a year earlier to 9.43 million barrels, or 314,000 barrels per day (bpd), for the first gain in two months, the government said Wednesday. Kuwait, the fourth-biggest oil provider to Japan last month, supplied 8.8 percent of Japan's total crude imports, compared with 7.0 percent in the same month of last year and 6.2 percent in October, the Japanese Natural Resources and Energy Agency said in a preliminary report. The value of Japan-bound shipments steadily account for 20 percent of Kuwait's total oil revenue, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) Chief Executive Officer Farouk Al-Zanki said in October. Japan's overall imports of crude oil shrank 12.7 percent year-on-year to 106.63 million barrels, or 3.55 million bpd, for the first drop in three months. Shipments from the Middle East accounted for 88.7 percent of the total, up 2.5 percentage points from the year before. Saudi Arabia remained Japan's biggest oil supplier, although imports from the kingdom fell 12.5 percent from a year earlier to 1.11 million bpd, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 823,000 bpd, up 11.5 percent. Qatar ranked third, with shipments falling 12.5 percent to 439,000 bpd, and Iran became fifth with 228,000 bpd, down 38.0 percent. Resources-poor Japan is the world's third-largest oil consumer after the US and China, and it relies on crude oil imports for about 50 percent of its energy needs. Shipments of direct-deal, which prices are based on the average spot price of Dubai crude, the benchmark for Asia, account for about 80 percent of Japan's crude imports. (end) mk.asa KUNA 281136 Dec 11NNNN

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