Though overall Chinese imports of crude oil jumped more than 10 %, OPEC-member Kuwait said on August 25, 2017, that its exports to the 2nd-largest economy remained stable.
Kuwait is a member of the OPEC and helps steer a committee monitoring a multilateral effort to trim the global surplus of crude oil through managed production declines.
Kuwait produced 2.7 million barrels of oil per day in July, putting it at the № 5 spot behind the United Arab Emirates.
The official Kuwait news agency said oil exports for the 1st 7 months of the year averaged 321,000 barrels per day, unchanged from the previous year.
Compared with last July, however, Kuwait exported 19.7 % fewer barrels to China.
Russia is China's top crude oil supplier and July exports of 8.2 million barrels per day were 11.8 % higher than the previous year.
OPEC members are the next 5 largest suppliers of crude oil to China.
In early August, Kuwait Petroleum International sent the 1st of 6 shipments of crude oil to the Nghi Son refinery in Vietnam.
The shipment aligned with the strategic objectives to find new outlets for Kuwait oil and expanding investment opportunities.
Higher exports from Kuwait should matter in OPEC's effort short-term, but balance out against domestic inventories over a period of time.
In total, Kuwait plans to send 12 million barrels of crude oil to Vietnam.
