BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. The European Union's reliance on imported crude oil and petroleum products hit a new all-time high in 2022, reaching 97.7 percent, Trend reports.
According to Eurostat, this marked a significant increase from the previous year's import dependency of 91.6 percent.
The surge in import dependency in 2022 was driven by several factors, including a 9.5-percent rise in net imports, with imports climbing by 4.9 percent and exports dropping by 1.7 percent.
Additionally, there was a 2.8-percent increase in gross available energy. Stockpiling also played a role, with 8.3 million tons of oil equivalent added to reserves to replenish supplies depleted in 2021, which saw the highest annual usage of 20.2 million tons of oil equivalent.
Import dependency for crude oil, a vital resource for the petrochemical industry and transportation fuels, also rose in 2022, reaching 97.6 percent.
Increased demand for fuels, particularly in the transportation sector, drove up crude oil usage. Motor gasoline consumption grew by 6.3 percent, while kerosene-type jet fuel consumption surged by 32.5 percent compared to 2021.
The rise in import dependency coincided with notable shifts in import sources. In May 2022, the European Commission initiated the REPowerEU plan to reduce reliance on Russian fossil fuels. As a result, imports of oil and petroleum products from Russia decreased by 24.57 million tons in 2022. However, this decline was offset by increased imports from countries like Saudi Arabia, the US, and Norway.
