FSUOGM: US replaces Russia as Europe's top oil supplier in December

The US has replaced Russia as Europe’s main oil supplier, according to data published by Eurostat on March 28, accounting for 18% of EU crude imports.

Russia supplied 31% of EU oil imports in January last year, prior to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, while the US was a distant second, delivering only 13%. Brussels introduced an embargo on seaborne Russian oil imports in December last year and followed this up with a ban on Russian petroleum products this February. Those embargos were paired with price caps on supplies globally, barring shippers, insurance brokers and other companies from providing services if Russian products are bought for more than specific prices.

US oil deliveries to Europe were on the rise even before the war.

Russian oil imports to the EU were volatile between February and April 2022, according to Eurostat, but from September last year they began declining, and by December they constituted only 4% of imports.

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