LUXEMBOURG / RankWire.AI / – European Union saw a significant rise in petroleum oil import expenditure during the second quarter of 2026, despite nearly stable physical volumes. According to Eurostat, the value of imports increased by 55.8% compared to the monthly average of 2025. Oil import volume reached 36.7 million tonnes, up 1.2%. These figures highlight a notable disparity between the growth in spending and the amount of oil actually imported into the bloc. Consequently, this quarter experienced a much more pronounced shift in import value than in tonnage.
In contrast, EU imports of liquefied natural gas exhibited a different trend in the same period. LNG import value rose by 4.1%, while the volume decreased by 5.6% from the 2025 monthly average. Meanwhile, natural gas delivered in gaseous form saw increases in both value and volume, with import value rising 18.5% and physical volume growing 3.4%. The quarterly data reflects energy products bought by EU member states from external suppliers, enabling a direct comparison across the main fossil energy categories imported into the union.
During the second quarter, the United States remained the leading supplier of petroleum oil to the EU, accounting for 18.8% of imports. Norway was the second-largest source at 14.3%, with Kazakhstan supplying 13.4%. Collectively, these three nations contributed 46.5% of the EU’s petroleum oil imports for the quarter. In LNG, supplier concentration was even higher, with the United States holding a significantly larger portion of total imports. The data also reveal distinct supply patterns across oil, LNG, and pipeline gas sources.
United States Holds the Dominant Share in EU LNG Imports
In the second quarter of 2026, the United States supplied 63.2% of the EU’s liquefied natural gas imports. Russia accounted for 17.3%, while Algeria’s share was 8.1%. These three suppliers together made up 88.6% of the total LNG imports during this period. This distribution differs from the petroleum oil market, where the top three suppliers accounted for less than half of total imports. The data reflect each country’s contribution within the respective EU energy import category and distinguish LNG trade from gaseous natural gas imports.
Norway was the primary source of gaseous natural gas, with a 51.2% share. Algeria ranked second at 18.2%, followed by the United Kingdom at 11.1%. Russia contributed 10.2% of the imports in this form. Eurostat assembled these figures from Comext trade data and statistical estimates. The dataset covers crude petroleum oils, liquefied natural gas, and natural gas transported in gaseous form, allowing for a clear comparison of import shares across different fuel types without combining them.
Petroleum Oil Import Value Bounces Back After 2025 Drop
Eurostat reported that the second quarter’s rise in petroleum oil import value followed a decline throughout 2025. In that year, EU petroleum oil import value fell by 17.8% compared to 2024, with volume dropping 6.1%. Overall, the union imported energy worth €336.7 billion in 2025, with a total volume of 723.3 million tonnes. The total energy import value decreased by 11.1%, and the volume declined by 0.6%. These annual figures serve as benchmarks to interpret the recent quarterly movements in oil, LNG, and gaseous natural gas imports.
Import totals for EU energy in 2025 remained below the levels of 2022, when the bloc imported €693.4 billion worth of energy and 849.6 million tonnes. By 2025, energy import value had fallen by 51.4%, and volume was 14.9% lower. The second quarter of 2026 showed a sharp increase in oil import value, contrasting with only a slight rise in physical volume, relative to the 2025 monthly average. These latest figures indicate that the quarterly oil import volume remains close to the previous year’s monthly average.