EU’s Oil Imports from Russia Fall by 90%
Following heavy sanctions, European Union’s (EU) oil imports from Russia plunged 90% in March compared with the average monthly figure in 2019-2022, recent official figures showed.
The total imports of crude oil and petroleum products from Russia into the EU27 plummeted to 1.4 million tons in March compared with 15.2 million tons on average in the three years to 2022, the Eurostat said in a statement on Monday.
The ban on imports of seaborne crude oil entered into force on Dec. 5, 2022, while the ban on petroleum products took effect on Feb. 5, 2023. Russia’s crude oil shipments to the EU dropped from 12.4 million tons in January 2022, before the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war, to 3.7 million tons in December 2022.
EU’s crude oil imports declined to 1.17 million tons in March. Imports of petroleum products decreased from 3.3 million tons in January 2022 to 700,000 tons in February this year and decreased to 300,000 tons in March.
Elsewhere, Saudi Arabian state-oil company Aramco and French energy giant TotalEnergies will construct a new petrochemicals complex in Saudi Arabia with around $11 billion investment, the companies announced in joint statement on Saturday.
The new “world-scale petrochemicals facility” will be integrated with the existing SATORP refinery jointly owned by Aramco and TotalEnergies in Jubail.
“The new complex aims to house one of the largest mixed-load steam crackers in the Gulf, with a capacity to produce 1,650 kilotons per annum of ethylene and other industrial gases.
The new facility is expected to attract more than $4 billion in additional investment in a variety of industrial sectors, including carbon fibers, lubes, drilling fluids, detergents, food additives, automotive parts, and tires. It is also expected to create around 7,000 local direct and indirect jobs.
