Public debate about Soviet oil has become more widespread in the past 5 years, but during this period Soviet petroleum exports have ceased to be made available by volume. Soviet oil consumption has usually been estimated by deducting exports from total production. This article takes the alternative approach, using Soviet statistics from a variety of sources, to build up a sectoral pattern of Soviet oil demand and to consider this in the broader context of total Comecon energy supply and demand. From this focus future prospects for the Comecon energy balance are analyzed.