The European Union has agreed to ban most imports of Russian crude and oil products in the latest round of sanctions after Moscow invaded Ukraine.
The ban on seaborne crude oil imports will be implemented in stages over a period of six months and for refined products transported by sea over an eight-month period. The sanctions exclude deliveries through pipelines supplying refineries in Eastern Europe and eastern Germany.
However, Germany and Poland said they would voluntarily stop buying crude oil through pipelines by the end of 2022. This means that in total, about 90% of Russia's oil imports to the bloc will be stopped, Reuters reported.
Indeed, many European buyers have voluntarily suspended their purchases of Russian oil or announced plans to phase it out.
Amount of Russian oil imported by the European Union
Europe was the destination of nearly half of Russia's exports of crude and petroleum products before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to the International Energy Agency.
The European Union imported 2.2 million barrels per day of crude in 2021, including 0.7 million barrels per day through a pipeline.
The bloc also imported 1.2 million barrels per day of refined petroleum products from Russia, including 0.5 million barrels per day of diesel.
EU countries importing most of the oil from Russia
Germany, Poland and the Netherlands were the largest countries to buy Russian crude oil from the European Union in 2021, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.
Germany and Poland are located on the northern branch of the Drogba pipeline, the main transit route for Russian oil exports to Europe.
The Netherlands, the centre of fuel trade in Europe, was the largest importer in the European Union of refined products from Russia.
Countries most dependent on Russian oil
EU countries close to Russia geographically, or locked countries with limited alternatives, rely heavily on Russian oil imports.
EU dependence on Russian fuel was supported by Russian companies, such as Rosneft and Luke Oil, which control refineries in some of them.
States on the southern route of the Drogba pipeline, which crosses Ukraine, rely particularly on Russian crude. Russian oil accounted for more than 90%, of Slovakia's crude oil imports in 2021.For countries importing by sea, Russian oil accounted for more than 80%, of imports in Finland and Lithuania. But the two countries said they had stopped buying crude oil from Russia.
