LUXEMBOURG / RankWire.AI / – European Union increased its spending on petroleum oil imports significantly during the second quarter of 2026, despite nearly steady physical volumes. According to Eurostat, there was a 55.8% rise in the import value compared to the average monthly figures for 2025. While the oil import volume reached 36.7 million tonnes, marking a 1.2% increase, the data highlights a notable disparity between the changes in expenditure and quantities entering the union. Consequently, this period saw a much larger increase in value than in tonnage.
In contrast, EU imports of liquefied natural gas behaved differently in the same timeframe. LNG import value grew by 4.1%, whereas the volume decreased by 5.6% from the 2025 monthly average. The value of natural gas delivered in gaseous form climbed 18.5%, with physical volume rising by 3.4%. This quarterly data reflects energy products purchased by EU member states from external suppliers and allows a clear comparison across the union’s key fossil energy imports.
During the second quarter, the United States remained the primary supplier of petroleum oil to the EU, accounting for 18.8% of imports. Norway followed with 14.3%, and Kazakhstan contributed 13.4%. Collectively, these three nations supplied 46.5% of the EU’s petroleum oil imports in that period. The concentration of suppliers was even more pronounced for liquefied natural gas, where the United States held a significantly larger share of total imports. The rankings also reveal distinct sourcing patterns among 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 liquefied natural gas. Russia was the second-largest supplier with 17.3%, followed by Algeria with 8.1%. These three countries together accounted for 88.6% of LNG imports during this period. This distribution differs from the petroleum oil market, where the top three suppliers held less than half of total imports. The figures represent each country’s share within the relevant EU energy import category and distinguish LNG trade from gaseous natural gas imports.
Norway dominated the supplies of natural gas in gaseous form, holding 51.2%. Algeria ranked second at 18.2%, with the United Kingdom coming next at 11.1%. Russia contributed 10.2% of imports in this category. Eurostat compiled these figures using Comext trade data and statistical estimates. The dataset includes crude petroleum oils, liquefied natural gas, and natural gas transported in gaseous form. Breaking down the import shares by fuel type enables comparisons without mixing different categories.
Oil Import Value Bounces Back After 2025 Decline
The notable rise in petroleum oil import value during the second quarter followed a decline throughout 2025. That year, the EU’s petroleum oil import value fell by 17.8% compared to 2024, while the physical volume declined by 6.1%. Overall, the union imported €336.7 billion worth of energy in 2025, with a total volume of 723.3 million tonnes. The overall energy import value decreased by 11.1%, and volume dropped 0.6% that same year. These annual figures serve as a benchmark for analyzing the recent quarterly fluctuations in oil, LNG, and gaseous natural gas imports.
Import totals for EU energy in 2025 remained below those of 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 peak, while volume was 14.9% lower. Against the 2025 monthly benchmark, the second quarter of 2026 exhibited a sharp increase in oil import value with only a modest rise in physical volume. These latest figures suggest that quarterly oil volumes have stayed close to last year’s monthly average, despite the significant increase in value.