US crude oil imports in Europe have become the main competitor of Russia supplies, comprising almost half of the lost Russian volumes in Europe, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its monthly oil market report on Wednesday.
Refiners are scrambling to source alternative supplies ahead of the looming EU sanctions deadline of Dec. 5 for oil and Feb. 5 for oil products.
The gap between imports of Russian and US barrels narrowed to just 40,000 barrels per day (bpd) in August, from a 1.3 million bpd pre-war average, the agency said. It added that increased Norwegian imports, which rose by 310,000 bpd, replaced one-third of lost Russian crude.
The US increased its share of EU crude imports from 1.1 million bpd in January to 1.6 million bpd in August, the agency reported.
Russia narrowly maintained its position as the largest supplier of crude oil to EU members, but the share of Russian exports out of the bloc’s total imports fell from 27% to 17%.
The UK has stopped importing crude oil from Russia. By August, the EU and UK had cut imports of Russian crude oil by a combined 880,000 bpd compared with pre-war levels, the IEA said.
The agency data shows the EU imported 2.3 million bpd of crude oil and 1.5 million bpd of oil products from Russia in January, which radically declined in August to 1.8 million and 1 million bpd, respectively.
Citing data by Kpler cargo tracking and estimated overland volumes, the agency said the EU’s crude oil imports from sources outside Russia increased by about 1 million bpd over the same period.
While Kazakhstan was the third-largest crude supplier to EU countries in the first two months of this year, the IEA said ongoing export constraints at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal, as well as upstream maintenance, saw Kazakh crude import volumes in the EU and the UK fall by more than a third to just 700,000 bpd in August.
Increased barrels from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Guyana, and Brazil, along with supplies from the US and Norway, have contributed to closing the gap and meeting greater import requirements, the agency added.
In December this year, when EU sanctions on Russian oil exports begin, EU countries will need to replace an additional 1.4 million bpd of Russian crude oil volumes relative to August.
The agency calculates that rebounded Kazakh volumes will provide 400,000 bpd to help offset Russian losses. US crude output is set to increase by about 300,000 bpd towards the end of the year, which could replace the current additional volumes from emergency oil reserves after October when the stock releases finish.
The US has provided around 730,000 bpd of crude oil to the markets using its Strategic Petroleum Reserves.
By Sibel Morrow
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr