The EU's Increasing Reliance on Oil and Gas Imports

Graph of the Week #8

Using data from the 2021 BP Statistical Review of World Energy, the graph above shows trends in the European Union’s reliance on imported oil and gas, from 2014 to 2020. Reliance on these imported fossil fuels has increased in the EU over this period, and particularly so for gas. In the EU in 2020, oil and gas comprised about 60% of total energy consumption. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and its effects on energy should raise important questions of the wisdom of reducing fossil fuel energy production in a manner faster than the overall reduction in fossil fuel consumption — considerable geopolitical risks ensue.