EXPLAINER: What's the impact if Europe cuts off Russian oil?

The European Union's executive commission has proposed phasing out imports of Russian oil within six months. It is part of Europe's struggle to stop paying Russia $850 million a day for energy and hit the Kremlin's finances over its invasion of Ukraine.

But reversing decades of dependence on Russian oil and natural gas is not a simple matter for the 27-nation bloc. For one thing, Hungary and Slovakia, both landlocked and big users of Russian oil, have said they won't go along with the boycott.

Here is what the oil sanctions could mean for people in Europe and the rest of the world:

HOW MUCH DOES EUROPE PAY RUSSIA FOR ENERGY?

Gas and oil have kept flowing even as governments denounce the war. The EU sends $450 million a day to Russia for oil and $400 million per day for natural gas, according to calculations by analysts at the Bruegel think tank in Brussels.

That means energy revenue is bolstering the Kremlin's budget, adding to foreign currency reserves that could help Russia support the ruble and partly make up for Western sanctions that froze much of Russia's foreign currency reserves held outside Russia.

HOW MUCH RUSSIAN OIL GOES TO EUROPE?

Europe is the biggest purchaser of Russian crude, receiving 138 million tons in 2020 out of Russia's total exports of 260 million tons — or 53%, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy. Europe, which imports almost all of its crude, gets a quarter of its needs from Russia.

Oil is refined into fuel for heating and driving as well as being a raw material for industry.

WHY IS THE FOCUS ON OIL INSTEAD OF NATURAL GAS?

It’s harder to find alternative sources of natural gas because it comes mainly by pipeline. It would be easier to find other sources for oil, which mostly moves by tanker and is traded globally. So a...