Netherlands relies the most on the US to meet energy needs
- The Netherlands was dependent on other countries for 77 percent of its energy needs in 2025.
- The United States was the largest supplier of oil and gas to the Netherlands.
- The European Union is less dependent on Russia for its energy supply than it was in 2019.
The Netherlands became more dependent on crude oil and natural gas from the United States between 2015 and 2025. In 2025, the Netherlands was dependent on the US for 24 percent of its energy supplies. As such, it is more dependent on the US than any other country. Meanwhile, the Netherlands has become steadily less dependent on Russia, with its dependence on that country falling below 3 percent in 2025. The Netherlands was reliant on imports from other countries for 77 percent of its energy supply in 2025. The European Union as a whole has also become more dependent on the US and less dependent on Russia for its energy. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on the basis of newly released figures.
The Netherlands’ energy dependence on other countries has been rising gradually, from 70 percent in 2015 to 77 percent in 2025. The remaining 23 percent of energy supplies are sourced from within the Netherlands. This increase in the Netherlands’ energy dependence is mainly due to the fact that, since 2014, less natural gas has been extracted from the Groningen gas field in the northern Netherlands. Gas extraction in the province of Groningen was discontinued completely in October 2023. It is only because of the growth in renewable energy production that the Netherlands’ energy dependence has not risen even further.
Energy imports from Russia fell sharply following the invasion of Ukraine, from 21 percent in 2021 to 3 percent in 2025. By contrast, energy dependence on the US increased from 3 percent in 2015 to 24 percent in 2025. Energy dependence on Norway hovered at around 15 percent over the same period.
| Jaar | Other countries (%) | United States (%) | Norway (%) | United Kingdom (%) | Kazakhstan (%) | Russia (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 28.2 | 3.1 | 15.8 | 5.1 | 0.2 | 17.5 |
| 2016 | 23.6 | 3.2 | 13.9 | 5.9 | 0.2 | 24.1 |
| 2017 | 24.9 | 3.8 | 15.6 | 6.7 | 0.2 | 22.0 |
| 2018 | 21.0 | 5.7 | 16.3 | 7.4 | 0.3 | 24.8 |
| 2019 | 23.1 | 8.3 | 16.2 | 6.0 | 22.0 | |
| 2020 | 21.3 | 9.5 | 16.4 | 8.5 | 21.0 | |
| 2021 | 22.0 | 10.7 | 17.5 | 5.7 | 0.7 | 20.7 |
| 2022 | 28.3 | 15.3 | 13.2 | 8.7 | 0.8 | 12.2 |
| 2023 | 30.0 | 23.2 | 14.5 | 7.2 | 2.4 | 1.6 |
| 2024 | 27.2 | 23.6 | 15.3 | 5.6 | 3.4 | 2.7 |
| 2025 | 26.2 | 24.4 | 13.5 | 5.4 | 5.0 | 2.7 |
Most crude oil imports come from the US
In 2025, 37 percent of all energy consumed in the Netherlands was provided by crude oil imported from other countries. Crude oil imports from the United States have been on the rise since 2015. This increase has coincided with a surge in oil production in the US and in US oil exports.
The decline in oil imports from Russia took place mainly in 2022 and 2023. Instead, more crude oil was imported from other countries in 2025, with Norway, Kazakhstan, and the United Kingdom being the top sources after the US. In 2025, 5 percent of the Netherlands’ oil imports came from Kazakhstan, up from less than 1 percent between 2015 and 2022.
| Jaar | Other countries (%) | United States (%) | Norway (%) | Kazakhstan (%) | United Kingdom (%) | Russia (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 17.2 | 0.3 | 6.0 | 0.2 | 2.8 | 9.6 |
| 2016 | 13.5 | 0.8 | 5.1 | 0.2 | 3.6 | 13.8 |
| 2017 | 14.5 | 1.3 | 4.2 | 0.1 | 3.6 | 13.2 |
| 2018 | 13.0 | 2.0 | 4.2 | 0.1 | 5.7 | 12.0 |
| 2019 | 14.0 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 10.0 | |
| 2020 | 12.6 | 5.7 | 3.6 | 5.6 | 8.9 | |
| 2021 | 11.7 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 0.4 | 4.6 | 11.0 |
| 2022 | 15.3 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 0.3 | 4.5 | 9.0 |
| 2023 | 17.8 | 9.1 | 6.1 | 2.3 | 4.8 | 0.8 |
| 2024 | 16.0 | 9.4 | 5.6 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 1.1 |
| 2025 | 13.5 | 8.2 | 6.5 | 4.9 | 3.3 | 1.1 |
Most dependent on US for natural gas
Between 2015 and 2025, the Netherlands became more reliant on natural gas from abroad, with the largest increase occurring prior to 2020. In 2025, the Netherlands’ dependence on natural gas from the US was 13 percent. That was up from 11 percent in 2024. Natural gas production in the US has increased in recent years, alongside the production of crude oil.
In addition, 7 percent of the Netherlands’ imports of natural gas come from Norway. Imports of natural gas from the United States consisted entirely of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is shipped across the Atlantic in tankers. Most natural gas from Norway reaches the Netherlands in gaseous form, via pipelines.
Imports of natural gas from Russia fell sharply between 2021 and 2023: from 7 percent of the total energy supply to 1 percent. In 2024 and 2025, it rose again to 2 percent, however, with imports consisting almost exclusively of LNG.
| Jaar | Other countries (%) | United States (%) | Norway (%) | United Kingdom (%) | Belgium (%) | Russia (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2.0 | 9.5 | 2.3 | 3.8 | ||
| 2016 | 2.2 | 8.6 | 2.3 | 6.1 | ||
| 2017 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 11.4 | 3.1 | 0.2 | 4.2 |
| 2018 | 2.9 | 0.4 | 12.1 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 8.5 |
| 2019 | 3.5 | 1.9 | 12.4 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 8.4 |
| 2020 | 4.0 | 2.3 | 12.8 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 8.9 |
| 2021 | 5.0 | 3.6 | 13.4 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 6.5 |
| 2022 | 5.5 | 6.7 | 8.5 | 4.1 | 1.7 | 2.2 |
| 2023 | 5.6 | 11.2 | 8.5 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 0.8 |
| 2024 | 4.9 | 10.9 | 9.7 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 1.6 |
| 2025 | 5.4 | 13.2 | 7.1 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 1.6 |
EU also less dependent on Russia for its energy
The European Union has also become less dependent on Russia to meet its energy needs. In 2021, the EU’s energy dependence on Russia was 19 percent; in 2023 and 2024, it was 3 percent. By 2024, the EU was most dependent on Norway for its energy needs, but its dependence on the US has also increased significantly, from 1 percent in 2015 to 9 percent in 2023.
The EU’s overall dependence on energy imports remained broadly constant between 2015 and 2024, and stood at 53 percent in 2024. Other countries on which the EU was dependent in 2024 include Algeria (mainly natural gas) and Kazakhstan (mainly crude oil). Libya, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, and Iraq also remain important sources of crude oil.
| Jaar | Other countries (%) | Norway (%) | United States (%) | Kazakhstan (%) | Algeria (%) | Russia (%) | Libya (%) | Saudi Arabia (%) | Nigeria (%) | Iraq (%) | United Kingdom (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 12.2 | 6.6 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 17.8 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 2.4 | |
| 2016 | 13.2 | 5.5 | 1.2 | 2.2 | 3.1 | 19.7 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 2 | 2.6 | |
| 2017 | 13.4 | 5.3 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 19.7 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 2.6 | |
| 2018 | 12.2 | 5.1 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 19.2 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 2.6 | |
| 2019 | 11.3 | 5.1 | 3.4 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 19.1 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 2.8 | |
| 2020 | 8.6 | 6.8 | 4.2 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 18.7 | 0.9 | 2.3 | 3 | 2 | 2.1 |
| 2021 | 8.9 | 6.2 | 4.3 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 18.4 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 1.8 |
| 2022 | 13.8 | 7.0 | 6.7 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 11.1 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.3 |
| 2023 | 14.2 | 9.2 | 9.0 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.3 |
| 2024 | 13.5 | 9.9 | 8.7 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 1.9 |
Sources
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