Imports of energy commodities into the EU continue to fall

The European Union imported energy commodities worth EUR 95.5 billion and weighing 183.8 million tonnes in the first quarter of this year. Compared with the same period in 2023, this represents a fall of 26.4% in value and 10.4% in volume. Eurostat, the European statistical office, reported.

The value and volume of energy commodity imports into EU countries continue to fall. The sharpest decline in the first quarter of this year was recorded for natural gas: the value of gas imported via pipelines fell by 56.8% year on year (volume by 11.7%), while the value of imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) fell by 54.1% (volume by 11.4%).

“The significant drop in value reflects the fall in natural gas prices following the price shock in 2022, while the decline in imported volumes should be viewed in the context of the EU plan to regulate consumption, under which EU countries committed to reducing natural gas consumption by at least 15%,” Eurostat said.

According to Eurostat, both the volume and value of imported oil products in the first quarter of this year were comparable to last year. The value edged up (by 0.4%), while the volume edged down (by 0.9%).

The US and Norway are the main suppliers of oil and gas

Almost half of the natural gas delivered to the EU via pipelines in the first quarter of this year came from Norway. Around one fifth came from Algeria, while Russia accounted for 17.3%.

Russia accounted for a similar share of LNG supplies (17.7%). The United States was the EU’s main supplier, with a share of almost 50% in the first three months of this year. The Financial Times recently highlighted Russia’s growing share of gas supplies to the European market, reporting that Russia became Europe’s second-largest gas supplier in May. This was the first time since September 2022.

The United States was also the leading oil supplier, with a 17.1% share. Norway followed with 13.6%, and Kazakhstan with just under 11%.