G7 countries to release up to 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil reserves
NBC News · LC · trust 60/100
Following a G7 videoconference hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, President Donald Trump said, “Europe has just agreed to release a massive amount of their heavily stocked Diesel Oil.”
“The process will begin immediately,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Gas prices have soared since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. But diesel in particular saw a renewed surge this summer after the Russia-Ukraine war escalated in July. Since late February, the average price of U.S. diesel has surged 70% to $6.37 per gallon.
The release will be as much as 100 million barrels over the course of four months, the G7 said in a statement. It noted that there would be a “substantial diesel release within the first 20 days.”
The leaders also said that they would begin coordinating maintenance schedules for oil refineries in their respective countries, “to prevent simultaneous capacity shutdowns and temporarily increase utilization rates where feasible.”
Many American and European refiners are already operating at maximum capacity levels.
“Our citizens’ concerns about energy prices remain a top priority,” the group said.
Oil analyst Andy Lipow said the release could help smooth over recent supply disruptions.
“A release of 100 million barrels of diesel fuel over four months would essentially replace Russian exports which have been banned as Ukrainian drone strikes have severely reduced Russian refining capacity,” said Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates.
At the gas pump, he said, “A release of this magnitude could temporarily reduce diesel prices by 25 cents per gallon but does little to increase refinery capacity to produce more.”
In March, countries that are members of the International Energy Agency approved a release of 400 million barrels of crude oil. That helped to partially ease the energy supply crunch for a time, but prices continued to rise.
As of Friday, prices still remain sharply elevated since the Iran war began. Brent crude oil ended the trading day effectively flat at $102.25 per barrel.
Since the start of the year, Brent prices are up more than 60% still.
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“American farmers, truckers, and businesses should not be left carrying the burden of a global diesel shortage” alone, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote on X late Thursday.
With just weeks to go until the Nov. 3 midterm elections, Republicans are facing a wall of poor polling numbers on the economy.
Just 41% of registered voters approve of Trump’s handling of the U.S. economy, according to the most recent NBC News polling, while 56% disapprove.
Meanwhile, economists say Trump’s policies are fueling inflation, roiling financial markets and upending global trade.
Against this backdrop, the president and his party were eager for a development like Friday’s G7 agreement to help show the public they could make progress on a central election issue: Sky-high gas prices.
But at the same time as Trump is hailing the release of oil and diesel reserves, he has also been openly considering a U.S. diesel export ban.
This would hit E.U.…
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