Romania covered 77% of its oil demand with imports in 2024, second-lowest rate in Europe

Romania covered 77% of its oil requirement with imports in 2024, with the remainder supplied by domestic extraction, according to Eurostat figures reported by b1tv.ro. The rate places Romania second in Europe among countries with the lowest dependence on crude imports, behind Denmark.

Where Romania stands in the European ranking

Denmark recorded the lowest import dependence in 2024 at 58.1%. Romania followed at 77%, ahead of Hungary at 83.5%, Italy at 89.8%, Germany at 96.9% and France at 99.8%. The spread between the top and the bottom of the table is more than 40 percentage points, and it tracks one variable above all: whether a country still produces oil of its own.

• Denmark — 58.1%
• Romania — 77%
• Hungary — 83.5%
• Italy — 89.8%
• Germany — 96.9%
• France — 99.8%

The indicator measures the share of energy demand covered by purchases abroad, not the tonnage imported. A country can bring in large volumes of crude and still post a relatively low rate if it has its own output. Romania's placement rests on local extraction, which continues to cover roughly a quarter of demand.

The EU aggregate: 471.3 million tonnes bought abroad

EU member states purchased 471.3 million tonnes of crude oil from outside the bloc in 2024, while extraction inside the Union totalled 15.5 million tonnes. Import dependence calculated for the bloc as a whole was 96.6%, close to 20 percentage points above Romania's rate.

The Netherlands registered the largest quantities of oil and petroleum products entering its market, at 138.3 million tonnes. Germany followed with 117.8 million tonnes, Spain with 85.8 million, France with 82.4 million and Italy with 73.3 million. The Dutch figure reflects the country's role as a refining and distribution hub serving other European markets, so volume there is not a direct measure of domestic consumption.

Romanian volumes and Kazakh supply

For 2025, the National Institute of Statistics indicated imports of about 8.9 million tonnes of oil for Romania against consumption estimated at around 11.4 million tonnes. The main external source of crude for the Romanian market is Kazakhstan.

In January–April 2026, imports made up about 72.8% of the total oil resources available in Romania, on National Institute of Statistics data. That measure covers total available resources rather than energy demand, so it is not directly comparable with the Eurostat dependence rate, but it points in the same direction: domestic barrels still carry a visible share of the balance.

Price exposure runs through the same channel

Over the same four months of 2026, Brent passed $100 a barrel after attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz area, reaching a level 65.7% above where it stood at the end of 2025. Import-dependent refining systems absorb that move directly through crude acquisition costs.

Almost two-thirds of the oil consumed in the EU goes to the transport sector, so changes in quotations feed into fuel prices, aviation and the cost of moving goods. b1tv.ro, citing Euronews, noted that the high import share leaves the Romanian domestic market sensitive to prices and to supply flows, even with the country ranked near the bottom of the dependence table.