India slashes oil imports from Oman.

Emirates Business 24/7 reported that India slashed its oil imports from Oman by nearly 88% in the first 8 months of 2012 but the decline was more than offset by a sharp rise in the Gulf country's crude exports to Taiwan and Singapore.

According to official data, China remained the dominant importer of Omani oil after it overtook Japan, the largest oil and economic partner of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council.

The figures by the Omani Ministry of National Economy showed that from around 27.62 million barrels in the first 8 months of 2011, India's oil imports from Oman dived to nearly 3.168 million barrels in the first 8 months of 2012, a decline of about 88.5%.

The Ministry, in its monthly report, gave no explanation for such a sharp decline but it showed a massive increase in Oman's oil exports to Singapore and Taiwan. Supplies to Japan also surged by around 64% and those to China by 13%.

Oil exports to Singapore rocketed by nearly 250% to 11.75 million barrels in the first 8 months of 2012 from around 3.352 million barrels. Exports to Taiwan also jumped by 207 per cent to around 21.59 million barrels from 7.07 million barrels in the same period.

The report showed China was the top oil client of Oman with its imports peaking at nearly 88.97 million barrels in the first 8% of this year compared with 78.68 million barrels in the first 8 months of 2011. China's oil imports accounted for nearly 40% of Oman's total oil production in the first eight months of 2012.

Japan, which had long dominated Oman's oil supply, retreated to the second place, with its imports standing at around 29.81 million barrels in the first 8 months of 2012, nearly 63.6% higher than its imports of 18.22 million barrels in the same period of last year.

The report showed South Korea's oil imports from Oman plummetted by around 53% to 6.06 million barrels from 12.9 million barrels and those by Thailand shrank by nearly 8% to 12.6 million barrels from 13.7 million barrels.

Oman's total crude oil output increased by about three per cent to 908,200 barrels per day in the first 8 months of 2012 from 881,900 barrels per day in the first 8 months of 2011 as the Gulf country is pushing ahead with plans to boost production to more than 1 million barrels per day.

Source - steelguru.com