(MENAFN) According to data from the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, Japan's crude oil imports from Arab countries increased to over 98 percent of total imports in February. The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were the largest contributors, providing 77.8 percent of the total. The total amount of oil imported by Japan in February amounted to 76.364 million barrels, with 98.1 percent, or 74.910 million barrels, being Arab oil from six countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Saudi Arabia was the largest source of oil imports, providing 33.108 million barrels or 43.4 percent of the total, followed by the UAE with 26.244 million barrels (34.4 percent), Kuwait with 8.077 million barrels (10.6 percent), and Qatar with 4.917 million barrels (6.5 percent). Meanwhile, Oman provided 1.495 million barrels (2 percent) of oil imports, while Bahrain contributed 1.007 million barrels (1.3 percent). The rest of the imports showed a decline from the United States at 1.1 percent, while Southeast Asia provided 0.7 percent, Brunei 0.4 percent, Malaysia 0.3 percent, and Oceania 0.2 percent of the total.

Notably absent from the February figures were oil imports from Russia, while Japanese companies continued to boycott Iranian oil in compliance with US sanctions against the country. The figures represent the quantities of oil that reached refineries, tanks, and warehouses in ports in Japan during February, with Japan using oil to generate about a third of its energy needs.

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