LUXEMBOURG / RankWire.AI / – European Union increased its expenditure on petroleum oil imports considerably in the second quarter of 2026, despite the physical volumes remaining nearly unchanged. According to Eurostat, the import value surged by 55.8% compared to the monthly average for 2025. During this period, oil import volume reached 36.7 million tonnes, representing a 1.2% rise. These figures reveal a significant disparity between the growth in expenditure and the change in physical quantities entering the bloc. Consequently, this quarter saw a much more pronounced shift in value than in tonnage.
Meanwhile, EU imports of liquefied natural gas exhibited a different pattern during the same timeframe. LNG import value increased by 4.1%, even as the volume decreased by 5.6% from the 2025 monthly average. Conversely, natural gas delivered in gaseous form experienced growth in both value and volume, with import value rising by 18.5% and physical volume climbing by 3.4%. The data for the quarter encompass energy products purchased by EU nations from external suppliers, allowing a direct comparison across the primary imported fossil fuels entering the union.
The United States continued to be the leading source of EU petroleum oil imports in the second quarter, accounting for 18.8%. Norway followed at 14.3%, with Kazakhstan supplying 13.4%. Collectively, these three countries contributed 46.5% of the EU’s petroleum oil imports during this period. The concentration of suppliers was higher for liquefied natural gas, where the United States held a substantially larger share of total imports. The data also reveal distinct supply patterns across oil, LNG, and pipeline gas sources.
United States Dominates EU LNG Imports
In the second quarter of 2026, the United States supplied 63.2% of the EU’s liquefied natural gas imports. Russia followed with 17.3%, while Algeria contributed 8.1%. These three suppliers made up 88.6% of the total LNG imports during this period. This distribution differs from that seen in the petroleum oil market, where the top three suppliers held less than half of the total. The figures depict each country’s share within the relevant EU energy import category and distinguish LNG trade from gaseous natural gas imports.
Norway led in gaseous natural gas supplies with a 51.2% share. Algeria ranked second at 18.2%, with the United Kingdom at 11.1%, and Russia accounting for 10.2%. 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 across different fuel categories without combining them.
Oil Import Values Recover Following 2025 Decline
The notable second-quarter increase in petroleum oil import value followed a decline throughout 2025. During that year, the EU’s petroleum oil import value fell by 17.8% compared to 2024, while the volume declined by 6.1%. Overall, the EU imported €336.7 billion worth of energy in 2025, with a total volume of 723.3 million tonnes. The total energy import value decreased by 11.1%, and the volume dropped by 0.6% for the year. These annual figures serve as benchmarks to evaluate the recent quarterly fluctuations in oil, LNG, and gaseous natural gas imports.
In 2025, the EU’s energy import totals remained below the levels seen in 2022, when the bloc imported €693.4 billion worth of energy, with a volume reaching 849.6 million tonnes. By 2025, the import value had fallen by 51.4% from that figure, and volume was 14.9% lower. The second quarter of 2026 showed a significant rise in oil import value, compared to 2025, with only a slight increase in physical volume. The latest data indicate that the quarterly oil volume remains close to last year’s monthly average.