Tokyo: Japan imported from the UAE 22.778 million barrels of crude oil in December 2018, data released by the Agency of Energy and Natural Resource in Tokyo showed.

This accounts for 24.5% of Japan’s total crude imports, the agency that belong to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, said.

Saudi Arabia provided 39.437 million barrels, or 42.5 per cent of the total.

Meanwhile, Japan imported over 6 million barrels of crude oil from the United States in December, marking a significant increase that put the US in fourth place out of countries exporting to Japan.

According to the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, American oil amounted to 6.6 per cent of total imports, which constituted 92.8 million barrels in December.

Kuwait provided 5.5 per cent. Oil from Iraq and Bahrain also increased in December to about 2 million barrels each, or 2.2 per cent of total imports.

Oman and Algeria each provided 0.4 per cent of total imports, or some 359,000 barrels, meaning that in total Arab oil fed 86% of the needs of the Japanese economy during the month.

Other providers included Indonesia at 1.9 per cent, Russia at 1.5 per cent and Kazakhstan at 1.1 per cent. Additionally, less than 0.05 per cent each came from Mexico, Malaysia, Vietnam, Australia and Colombia.

Japan oil imports provide about 30 per cent of the country’s energy needs, according to official data.