Rystad, a European energy company, reports that Western Europe has cut off all oil imports from Russia, a massive defeat for Vladimir Putin.
After a steady increase before the conflict in Ukraine, the United Kingdom and a big chunk of Europe have switched their dependence away from Russian oil and gas and toward other suppliers, such as Canada and the United States, according to analysts.
Jorge Leon, senior VP for oil markets at Rystad, stated that the adaptability of the energy system was underestimated.
If Eurostat is believed, Russia supplied the European Union with 39% of its gas, 23% of its oil, and 46% of its coal in 2020.
Nearly 30% of the fuel, 27% of the coal, and 10% of the gas that the UK used was provided by Russia; some of this gas was brought by ships as LNG, and some was carried via trans-European pipelines.
Official figures currently show that this is practically nonexistent.
Although the total numbers are still reducing, Leon, slated to attend this week’s International Energy Week in London, has indicated that some Russian fossil fuels have been suspected of entering via refineries in other nations.
In Leon’s view, the crux of the matter was the surge in output emanating from non-Opec sources, as opposed to the cartel of primarily Middle Eastern nations that dictates pricing and supplies.
Overall, energy consumption fell in 2022 due to the economic slump that hit Europe and the UK.
The process of severing ties with Russia has been a pain, unfortunately. Leon warned that the apparent decline in trade with Russia could be deceiving, given that the Russian government was expanding crude oil supplies to countries like India.
Diesel and other processed goods may be shipped to the UK and Europe.
According to him, China and India are now supplying Europe with oil rather than Russia.
This U-turn would have been unfathomable for Jorge Leon, senior VP of oil markets at the European energy consultant Rystad, before the crisis in Ukraine.
Western Europe is said to continue importing fossil fuels from Russia, regardless of whether its dependence on these commodities has decreased.
