Drop in EU imports of energy products in Q3 2023

In the third quarter of 2023, the EU imported €35.4 billion worth of energy products amounting to a total of 65 million tonnes. Compared with the same quarter of 2022, imports decreased both in value (-49.1%) and in net mass (-11.3%).

Imports of energy products made up 17.7% of all EU imports in the third quarter of 2023. From 2019 to 2023, there were significant fluctuations in this share which can mainly be attributed to the pronounced volatility in the prices of energy products. 

The share of petroleum oils in the total EU imports increased from 9.1% in 2021 to 11.0% in 2022 and remained at 10.6% in the first three quarters of 2023. More significant fluctuations were observed for natural gas, rising from 5.1% in 2021 to 10.8% in 2022, before declining to 6.5% in the first three quarters of 2023. 

Comparing the third quarter of 2022 with the third quarter of 2023, imports of petroleum oils remained stable while the imports of natural gas dropped significantly (from 13.1% to 5.2%).

Source dataset: Comext and Eurostat estimates

Norway and United States - key energy suppliers

Most of the EU imports of petroleum oil in the third quarter of 2023 came from the United States (17.7%), followed by Norway (13.7%) and Kazakhstan (8.2%).

Almost half of the natural gas in the gaseous state came from Norway (48.6%). Algeria followed with 17.8%, ahead of Russia (16.0%) and the United Kingdom (10.5%).

The United States provided almost half of the imported liquified natural gas (48.5%), ahead of Qatar (14.0%), Algeria (10.1%) and Russia (8.8%).

Source dataset: Comext and Eurostat estimates

Russia’s share of energy products drops

Russia’s share in the EU imports of energy products has been decreasing following the war of aggression against Ukraine. In the third quarter of 2022, Russia accounted for 14.5% of all the EU imports of energy products, and in the third quarter of 2023, it accounted for 6.5% of all energy imports.