The Netherlands, Europe’s key trading hub, was the second largest importer of Russian crude and the EU’s top importer of Russian refined products. The Dutch imported 414,000 bpd of crude and 335,000 bpd of refined products in November 2021.

EU countries most dependent on Russian oil 

Countries on the southern route of the Druzhba pipeline running through Ukraine are especially dependent on Russian crude imports. Russian oil accounted for 92% of Slovakia’s crude imports in November 2021. For those importing by sea, Russian oil accounted for 87% of imports by Lithuania and 84% of Finland’s imports in November 2021, the IEA data showed. Both of those countries have said they were no longer buying from Russia. Europe is heavily dependent on Russia for its oil and gas. In 2021, two-fifths of the gas Europeans burned came from Russia. And over a quarter of the EU’s imported crude oil comes from Russia. In 2021, the EU imported $108 billion (€99bn) worth of energy from Russia, by far its biggest import from the country.