London
CNN
—
The United States is now the biggest supplier of crude oil to the European Union.
In December, 18% of the bloc’s crude imports came from America, EU data office Eurostat said Tuesday.
That is a big turnaround. Russia was until recently the bloc’s top supplier of crude, accounting for as much as 31% of total imports until the end of January 2022, according to Eurostat. The US, meanwhile, came a distant second, with a maximum 13% share.
But Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year led to an upheaval in Europe’s energy supplies.
EU states slashed their imports of Russia’s energy, and the bloc imposed sanctions on the country’s oil and coal exports.
In December, the European Union banned imports of Russian seaborne crude and introduced a price cap barring shippers, insurance brokers and other companies from providing…
