The European Union (EU) is going through a phase of soaring energy prices as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The high energy prices in the EU have influenced the authorities to devise measures to go into a self-reliant mode to meet domestic demand.
The members of the European Union are proposing a ban on the importation of Russian crude products following the 5 of December. Along with the ban on importing crude oil from Russia, the price cap on the importation of gas is also being discussed among the European Commission as a political agreement.
Russian Crude Exports – Region Wise
Russia’s crude oil exports to top regions in the world are represented in Russian export data below. The top regions Russia exports crude oil are (as shown in alphabetical order)—America ($4B), Asia ($48B), Europe ($59B), EU ($51B), Middle East ($2B), and Oceania ($0.40B).
As shown in the represented Russian crude oil exports above, the top region that Russia exported to was Europe, with a total value of exports of $59.1 billion. The group members of the European Union (27 countries) accounted for an unlimited amount of $50.9 billion in crude oil exports.
Region-wise, Europe is the largest importer of crude oil for Russia. The European Union, in that sense, come across as highly dependent on Russian exports of crude oil and its products. As observed, Asia is another contender for the exports of Russian crude oil and its products.
EU Imports – Monthly Trend 2022
The imports of crude oil by the European Union in 2022 so far have been represented in the image below. The value of imports features the monthly trends for crude oil imported from other countries by the European Union.
The beginning of this year amounted to $26.5 billion of crude imports, followed by $28.9 billion in imports in the next month, representing a slight increase. The value of imports increased further in the month of March, with a total import value of $32.69 billion.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine started out at the end of February and went on for months, influencing the value of imports. With slight fluctuations, the value of crude oil imports in the EU peaked in the month of June with a total value of $40.9 billion, as per the above-shown data.
Top Importing Countries So Far
The importing countries of the EU for crude oil imports are represented below, as per available 2022 import data. The total value of imports featured in the image shows the imports accounted for in the first and second quarters of 2022, arranged in the sequence according to Q2-2022.
Russia accounted for the highest value of $20.9 billion in Q1-2022 and $16.3 billion in Q2-2022 among all other countries. The USA accounted for the second-highest values, with $8.1 billion in Q1-2022 and $11.08 billion in Q2-2022. Norway, the Netherlands, and Nigeria are other top importing countries for the EU’s crude oil imports with values shown in the image above.
Since the EU is facing a high-rising energy prices phase due to the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the authorities are considering hoarding up the Russian crude oil before the prohibitive measures on the Russian market, exporting crude products through seaborne routes, from the 5 of December in 2022. Russia is currently actively exporting crude products to Asia.