LUXEMBOURG / RankWire.AI / – European Union increased its expenditure on petroleum oil imports significantly in the second quarter of 2026, despite nearly unchanged physical volumes. According to Eurostat, the import value rose by 55.8% compared to the monthly average for 2025. The volume of oil imported reached 36.7 million tonnes, marking a modest growth of 1.2%. These figures reveal a substantial gap between the rise in expenditure and the relatively stable tonnage entering the bloc, indicating that the quarter experienced a much larger increase in value than in the quantity imported.
Conversely, EU imports of liquefied natural gas showed a different trend during the same period. LNG import values grew by 4.1%, even as the physical volume fell by 5.6% from the average of 2025. Meanwhile, natural gas delivered in gaseous form saw both higher value and volume. Its import value increased by 18.5%, and physical volume grew by 3.4%. The quarterly data covers energy commodities bought by EU member states from external suppliers, providing a clear comparison across the main fossil energy categories imported into the union.
During the second quarter, the United States remained the primary supplier of petroleum oils to the EU, accounting for 18.8% of imports. Norway was the second-largest source at 14.3%, with Kazakhstan supplying 13.4%. These three nations collectively contributed 46.5% of the total EU petroleum oil imports in that period. In contrast, supplier concentration was notably higher in liquefied natural gas, where the United States dominated with a significantly larger share of the total imports. The rankings also highlight distinct supply patterns for oil, LNG, and pipeline gas.
US Leads EU LNG Imports
In the second quarter of 2026, the United States supplied 63.2% of the EU’s LNG imports. Russia was responsible for 17.3%, while Algeria contributed 8.1%. These three suppliers made up 88.6% of LNG imports during the period. This distribution differs from the petroleum oil market, where the top three suppliers accounted for less than half of the total imports. The figures illustrate each country’s share within the EU’s energy import categories and distinguish LNG trade from gaseous natural gas imports.
In the category of gaseous natural gas, Norway led with a 51.2% share. Algeria ranked second at 18.2%, followed by the United Kingdom at 11.1%. Russia accounted for 10.2% of these imports. Eurostat compiled these figures using Comext trade data and statistical estimates. The dataset covers crude petroleum oils, liquefied natural gas, and natural gas transported in gaseous form. This 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 during the second quarter followed a downward trend throughout 2025. In that year, the EU’s petroleum oil import value decreased by 17.8% compared to 2024, while volume fell by 6.1%. The total energy imports in 2025 amounted to €336.7 billion, with a total volume of 723.3 million tonnes. Overall, energy import value declined by 11.1%, and volume decreased by 0.6% in 2025. These annual figures serve as a benchmark for analyzing the recent quarterly changes in oil, LNG, and gaseous natural gas imports.
Energy import values for the EU in 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, the total energy import value had fallen by 51.4%, and volume was down 14.9%. Consequently, the second-quarter 2026 oil imports showed a sharp rise in value, with only a modest increase in physical volume, relative to the 2025 monthly average. These latest figures indicate that quarterly oil volumes are still close to the previous year’s monthly average.
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