Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that by June the UK had already achieved its goal of phasing out Russian oil and natural gas imports.
The plunge was driven by the sanctions imposed on Russia as a result of the invasion of Ukraine. Prior to the invasion, Russia was the UK’s largest supplier of refined oil, supplying 5.9 per cent of the UK’s crude oil imports and 4.9 per cent of gas imports, according to the ONS.
Overall, Russia accounted for 24.1 per cent of all imports of refined oil. To compensate, the ONS said the UK had been compensating by increasing imports of refined oil from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the Netherlands and Belgium.
“The economic sanctions applied by the UK government are likely to have driven the decreases in imports from and exports to Russia; however self-sanctioning, whereby traders voluntarily seek alternatives to Russian goods, is also likely a factor,” the ONS said.
However, energy was far from the only...