THE HAGUE, MARCH 15 (RIA NOVOSTI) - On results of last year, Russia has become the largest supplier of oil to The Netherlands, outpacing Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom, ranking the second and the third, respectively. Norway and Kuwait are the fourth and the fifth largest exporters of oil to the Netherlands.
According to the Dutch Central Statistics Board information, published on Monday, in 2003 The Netherlands imported over 48 million tons of crude, to a sum of 8.8 billion euros, or 2 percent more than in 2002.
Over 20 percent of oil arrived from Russia. In all, Russia in 2003 shipped to The Netherlands 11 million tons of oil to a sum of 1.9 billion euros. In comparison with 2002, Russian oil shipments to that country increased by 43 percent.
While in 1975 The Netherlands imported 98 percent of oil from countries of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, in 2003 it did only 37 percent. In recent years shipments of oil to The Netherlands from Russia, the United Kingdom and Norway have been increasing.
