U.S. Replaced Russia as Europe’s Biggest Crude Oil Supplier

SEATTLE (Oil Monster): The latest trade statistics published by Eurostat indicates that the U.S. has eclipsed Russia to become the largest crude oil supplier to the European Union (EU) countries.

As per data, the imports from the U.S. accounted for 18% of the bloc’s total crude oil imports during the month of December last year. This is a big shift when com-pared with the beginning of the previous year. In January 2022, Russia accounted for up to 31% of the total crude oil imports. At the same time, the U.S. share was significantly lower at 13%. The Russian invasion of Ukraine boosted imports from the U.S.

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The EU countries had imposed strict controls on imports of Russian energy. The bloc had also imposed sanctions of the country’s oil exports. Later in December, the bloc imposed ban on imports of seaborne crude from Russia and introduced a price cap, which further slashed supplies from the country.

The crude oil imports from Russia to the EU bloc remained volatile from February to April last year. But from September 2022 onwards, it recorded gradual decline to hit the lowest levels in December, Eurostat data said. Towards the end of the previous year, Russia was displaced by the U.S., Norway and Kazakhstan as the biggest crude oil suppliers to the bloc.

On the other hand, Russian crude managed to find alternative markets such as India and China.