LUXEMBOURG / RankWire.AI / – European Union expenditure on petroleum oil imports saw a significant increase in the second quarter of 2026, despite nearly stable physical volumes. According to Eurostat, the import value surged by 55.8% compared to the average monthly figure for 2025. The volume of oil imported reached 36.7 million tonnes, marking a 1.2% rise. These figures reveal a notable divergence between the growth in expenditure and the amount of oil entering the bloc, indicating that the quarter experienced a much larger change in value than in tonnage.
During the same period, EU imports of liquefied natural gas showed a different trend. LNG import value increased by 4.1%, even as volume declined by 5.6% from the 2025 monthly average. Meanwhile, natural gas delivered in gaseous form experienced rises in both value and volume, with its import value growing by 18.5% and physical volume increasing by 3.4%. These quarterly figures, sourced from energy products purchased by EU member states from outside suppliers, allow for a direct comparison across the main fossil energy imports into the union.
In the second quarter, the United States remained the primary supplier of EU petroleum oil, accounting for 18.8% of imports. Norway followed with 14.3%, and Kazakhstan contributed 13.4%, collectively representing 46.5% of EU petroleum oil imports during this period. The dependency on specific suppliers was higher in liquefied natural gas, where the United States held a substantially larger share. The data also highlights distinct supply patterns across oil, LNG, and pipeline natural gas.
United States Leads EU LNG Imports
In the second quarter of 2026, the United States supplied 63.2% of the EU’s liquefied natural gas imports. Russia accounted for 17.3%, while Algeria provided 8.1%, with these three countries making up 88.6% of LNG imports during the period. This distribution contrasts with the petroleum oil market, where the top three suppliers held less than half of the total. The data reflects each country’s share within the relevant EU energy import category and separates LNG trade from gaseous natural gas imports.
Norway was the leading supplier of natural gas in gaseous form, representing 51.2% of imports, followed by Algeria at 18.2% and the United Kingdom at 11.1%. Russia contributed 10.2% of such imports. Eurostat compiled these figures using Comext trade data and statistical estimates, covering crude petroleum oils, liquefied natural gas, and natural gas transported in gaseous form. This category-specific breakdown enables comparison of import shares without mixing different fuel types.
Petroleum Oil Import Values Rebound After 2025 Decline
The notable increase in petroleum oil import value in the second quarter followed a decline throughout 2025. EU petroleum oil import value fell by 17.8% in 2025 compared to 2024, while volume dropped by 6.1%. In total, the bloc imported €336.7 billion worth of energy in 2025, with a total volume of 723.3 million tonnes. Overall energy import value decreased by 11.1%, and volume declined by 0.6% that year. These annual figures serve as a benchmark for assessing the latest quarterly movements in oil, LNG, and gaseous natural gas.
Energy import totals in the EU for 2025 remained below the levels seen in 2022, when the bloc imported €693.4 billion worth of energy, with a volume of 849.6 million tonnes. By 2025, energy import value had fallen 51.4% from that level, and volume was 14.9% lower. Compared to the 2025 monthly average, the second quarter of 2026 showed a sharp rise in oil import value with only a slight increase in physical volume. The latest data indicates that quarterly oil volumes are close to last year’s monthly average, despite the significant value change.