In a bid to rein in runaway fuel costs, leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations have agreed to tap up to 100 million barrels of emergency crude oil and diesel reserves. The major intervention follows intense pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump as surging energy prices reverberate across the global economy.
The coordinated release will be overseen by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and distributed over a four-month timeframe. French President Emmanuel Macron—currently serving as G7 chair—announced the decision on Friday, October 2, following a virtual summit with the leaders of the U.S., U.K., Germany, Italy, Canada, and Japan.
“We are aligned in taking joint action to cool down petroleum product costs, with a sharp focus on diesel availability,” Macron stated following the video conference.
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The agreement comes on the heels of aggressive posturing from the White House. U.S. officials had warned European allies that Washington was considering a blanket ban on American diesel exports to protect domestic consumers ahead of the upcoming U.S. midterm elections in November.
Because European refineries produce only about 70% of the continent’s diesel consumption, losing access to American shipments presented a severe economic risk. Market analysts warned that European buyers competing for alternative global cargoes would send international fuel prices spiraling even higher.
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To head off trade restrictions, G7 members agreed to front-load a heavy proportion of diesel reserves within the initial 20 days. Under the joint commitment, member states agreed to: maintain open energy trade without implementing export restrictions, run domestic refineries at peak operational capacity, evaluate further reserve releases if market volatility persists in the coming days.
Writing on Truth Social, President Trump welcomed the deal, posting:
“Europe has just agreed to release a massive amount of their heavily stocked diesel oil. The process will begin immediately.”
The policy intervention reflects acute pressure at retail gas stations worldwide. In the U.K., average pump prices for diesel hit an all-time record of £2.00 per liter on Friday, according to motoring organization RAC.
While £2.00 per liter represents the national average, many independent retail forecourts had already crossed that threshold earlier in the week.
The emergency release marks the latest effort by energy authorities to stabilize markets shaken by geopolitical conflict. In March, the IEA authorized an unprecedented 400-million-barrel crude release—the largest in its history—to counter price shocks stemming from military strikes in the Middle East. That draw exceeded double the 182-million-barrel intervention launched in 2022 following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
With Brent crude lingering above $100 per barrel—up significantly from pre-conflict levels around $72—global leaders hope this 100-million-barrel injection will supply immediate relief to strained supply chains.