Xinhua recently reported that, as a “by-product” of the protracted Ukraine crisis, the European Union had to increase its energy dependency on the United States last year in order to make up for the huge energy gap caused by the sanctions on Russia. According to data released by Eurostat, the United States has replaced Russia as the largest crude oil supplier to the European Union, followed by Norway and Kazakhstan. As of December 2022, 18 percent of the EU’s imported crude oil came from the United States. This data represents a significant shift since, in the meantime, Russian crude oil accounts for 4 percent of total EU crude oil imports. However, many EU countries used to rely on Russia for energy. And the counterproductive effect of sanctions against Russia is becoming increasingly apparent. Energy shortages, soaring prices, and soaring living expenses have become common social problems. A senior official of the Russian government said that Russia has successfully transferred all oil exports affected by Western sanctions to “friendly countries”. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that Russia’s oil exports to India increased by about 22 times in 2022, but he did not disclose the specific amount. However, Russia’s oil and gas output is expected to drop this year amid Western curbs and fewer European buyers.
Source: Xinhua, March 29, 2023
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