LUXEMBOURG / RankWire.AI / – European Union increased its expenditure on petroleum oil imports sharply in the second quarter of 2026, despite the fact that physical volumes remained nearly unchanged. According to Eurostat, the import value grew by 55.8% compared to the monthly average of 2025. During this period, oil import volume reached 36.7 million tonnes, representing a 1.2% rise. These figures highlight a substantial disparity between the increase in spending and the quantity of oil brought into the bloc, indicating a much larger change in value than in tonnage for the quarter.
The same period saw differing trends in EU liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports. LNG import value went up by 4.1%, while the physical volume decreased by 5.6% from the 2025 monthly average. Conversely, natural gas supplied in gaseous form experienced growth in both value and volume, with its import value climbing by 18.5% and physical volume increasing by 3.4%. The quarterly data captures energy products acquired by EU countries from international suppliers, offering a direct comparison across major fossil energy imports into the union.
In the second quarter, the United States remained the primary source of EU petroleum oil imports, accounting for 18.8%. Norway followed with 14.3%, and Kazakhstan supplied 13.4%. Collectively, these three nations contributed 46.5% of the total petroleum oil imports during the period. The concentration of suppliers was notably higher for liquefied natural gas, where the United States held a significantly larger share of the total imports. The rankings also reveal distinct supply patterns among oil, LNG, and pipeline natural gas.
United States Maintains Leadership in EU LNG Imports
In the second quarter of 2026, the United States supplied 63.2% of the EU’s LNG imports. Russia provided 17.3%, and Algeria accounted for 8.1%. These three suppliers together represented 88.6% of all 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 reflect each country’s share within the relevant EU energy import category and distinguish LNG trade from natural gas imported in gaseous form.
Norway was the leading exporter of gaseous natural gas, with a 51.2% share. Algeria ranked second at 18.2%, followed by the United Kingdom at 11.1%, while Russia contributed 10.2%. 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. This breakdown enables comparison of import shares across different fuel types without combining them.
Oil Import Value Recovers After 2025 Decline
The notable rise in petroleum oil import value during the second quarter followed a decline throughout 2025. That year, EU petroleum oil import value fell by 17.8% compared to 2024, with volume decreasing by 6.1%. Overall, the bloc imported €336.7 billion worth of energy in 2025, with a total volume of 723.3 million tonnes. The total energy import value dropped by 11.1%, while volume decreased by 0.6%. These annual figures serve as a reference point to evaluate the recent quarterly movements in oil, LNG, and gaseous natural gas imports.
In 2025, EU energy import values remained below the levels recorded in 2022, when the bloc imported €693.4 billion worth of energy, with a volume of 849.6 million tonnes. By 2025, the energy import value had fallen by 51.4% from that peak, and volume was down 14.9%. Therefore, in the second quarter of 2026, oil imports showed a significant increase in value, with only a modest rise in physical volume compared to the 2025 monthly average. The latest data indicates that quarterly oil volume remains close to last year’s monthly average.