EU Crude Import Bill Hit €212 Billion in 2025 as Gas Dependency on Russia Persists
European Council data shows the bloc spent more than €212 billion on 435 million tonnes of crude oil last year, even as Russian LNG volumes keep rising.
The European Union spent more than €212 billion importing 435 million tonnes of crude oil in 2025, according to official figures released by the European Council. The expenditure lands as European leaders maintain the energy relationship with Russia is being systematically unwound — a claim that looks straightforward on crude, and considerably less so on gas.5
Russian crude's share of EU oil imports has collapsed to around 3%, down from roughly 30% in 2021, according to data compiled by Russia's economy ministry. That shift, driven by sanctions and political pressure following the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, pushed European buyers toward Middle Eastern, West African and American barrels. Those barrels came at a cost. The €212 billion annual import bill reflects what diversification looks like when it is forced, fast, and non-negotiable.2
Gas tells a different story. EU countries paid Russia €2.9 billion for approximately 5.1 million tonnes, or 6.9 billion cubic metres, of LNG in the first quarter of 2026 alone, environmental group Urgewald said on Friday (2026-05-15), citing figures reported by Montel. That compares with 4.3 million tonnes in the same period of 2025 — a meaningful volume increase even as political pressure around Russian energy purchases remains high.1
Yamal LNG, Russia's primary Atlantic-basin export facility, directed 97% of its first-quarter 2026 output to EU buyers, Urgewald said. Over the full first half of 2026, the EU imported a record 9.97 million metric tonnes of Russian LNG worth €5.96 billion from the Yamal facility, a 16% increase on the same period a year earlier, according to Kpler data cited by OilPrice.com. Overall EU imports of Russian LNG rose 11% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, while Russian pipeline gas imports into the bloc edged up 7%, according to the same data.4
Russian gas now accounts for 18% of European imports, down sharply from 45% in 2021, but the trajectory has flattened. ICE Endex TTF front-month gas was trading at €55.50 per megawatt-hour as of 08:15 UTC on 2026-08-10, keeping Russian LNG economically competitive for buyers weighing spot cargo economics against political exposure.2
Moscow's own projections reflect the revenue dependence that persists despite sanctions. Russia's economy ministry raised its forecast for combined oil and gas export revenues in 2025 to $206.1 billion from a previous estimate of $200.3 billion, while trimming the 2026 outlook to $215.2 billion from $220.4 billion. Russian oil exports are now expected to reach 240.1 million tonnes in 2025, up from a prior forecast of 229.7 million tonnes.2
On crude, the EU has effectively ended its Russian dependency, routing its €212 billion annual import bill toward non-sanctioned suppliers. On gas, the bloc continues to send billions toward Moscow each quarter, with Yamal volumes hitting records even as the EU has pledged a formal ban on new Russian LNG contracts by 2027.5,4
Gazprom, the state gas exporter that once dominated European pipeline supply, recorded a loss of almost $7 billion in 2023, its first annual loss since 1999, as EU pipeline purchases evaporated. But Russia has partially offset that through LNG, where Yamal remains the dominant supplier into northwest European regasification terminals.2
Russia's economy ministry expects pipeline gas exports outside the former Soviet Union to fall 10.7% this year from 2024 levels to 72 billion cubic metres, reversing earlier projections. LNG exports are seen rising just 3% to 35.7 million metric tonnes, below previous forecasts. Yet those shrinking Russian export volumes sit alongside rising EU import figures — suggesting European buyers have absorbed most of the adjustment so far.2
The EU is also exploring transporting Azerbaijani gas through Russian pipelines crossing Ukrainian territory, according to sources cited by Bloomberg and reported in May (2026-05-19), a workaround that would maintain physical flows through infrastructure the bloc has otherwise sought to bypass. Kyiv's willingness to host transit volumes on lines it has sought to shut down remains unsettled.3
How European LNG import volumes from Russia move in the months before the 2027 ban deadline will matter most to Atlantic freight markets. Buyers front-loading cargoes ahead of any cut-off would push Yamal utilisation rates and spot LNG freight rates higher simultaneously — a dynamic traders will price well before any formal policy trigger arrives.4,1