(HRNW) – Russian oil imports into the European Union and United Kingdom fell 35% to 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd) in August from 2.6 million bpd in January, but the EU was still the biggest market for Russian crude, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
On Wednesday, Poland said it had detected a leak in one pipeline in the Druzhba system that carries oil from Russia to Europe, an event that will add to concerns about Europe’s energy security after the Nord Stream gas pipeline leak.
The UK has already stopped importing Russian crude following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, and the EU will ban imports from December in an attempt to strip the Kremlin of revenue to fund the war.
The ban will most likely create a shortage of oil due to a general lack of spare crude volumes in the world.
So far imports from the United States have replaced about half the 800,000 barrels of lost Russian imports, with Norway providing around a third.