US replaces Russia as Europe’s biggest crude oil supplier

The United States is currently the largest crude oil supplier to the European Union.

In December, 18% of the EU’s crude oil imports came from the United States, according to figures released by Eurostat on Tuesday.

This is a significant reversal. According to Eurostat, until the end of January 2022, Russia accounted for as much as 31% of the bloc’s total crude imports. Until recently, Russia was the bloc’s leading crude supplier, accounting for as much as 31% of total imports. The United States came in second place with a maximum 13% share.

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February of last year, however, disrupted Europe’s energy supplies.

The EU reduced its energy imports from Russia and placed restrictions on the country’s oil and coal exports.

In December, the European Union prohibited imports of Russian seaborne petroleum and imposed a price restriction prohibiting shippers, insurance brokers, and other businesses from offering their services if oil was purchased for more than $60 a barrel.

Upon the outbreak of war, a number of European nations reduced their imports of Russian natural gas. Russia, for its part, began to reduce the continent’s flow of resources. Gazprom initially curtailed gas exports through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which comprised approximately 35 percent of Europe’s overall imports of Russian gas in 2021. In September, the pipeline was stopped down due to technical concerns.

Eurostat data indicates that Russia’s proportion of Europe’s natural gas imports has decreased significantly from 31% in the first quarter of 2022 to approximately 19% by the end of the year. This makes the United States the second-largest supplier of gas to the EU, with an almost 20% share, after Norway, which accounts for about 31% of EU gas imports.

According to Eurostat, imports of Russian crude into the union were variable between February and April of last year. Nevertheless, beginning in September 2022, they rapidly decreased until they accounted for only 4% of overall imports in December.

At the end of the year, “the EU’s largest crude oil suppliers were the United States, Norway, and Kazakhstan,” according to Eurostat. This demonstrates that the EU was able to adjust to the shifting oil market scenario and eliminate its dependence on Russian oil.

Particularly India and China have increased their oil purchases from Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.

According to TASS, the Russian state news agency, Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov stated on Tuesday that Moscow had successfully diverted the “entire volume” of crude oil and oil product exports lost owing to Western sanctions. Yet, the ministry anticipates a decline in Russian oil and gas production this year, with gas extraction negatively impacted by a shortage of European consumers, he said.

The restructuring of the global oil market came with a cost.