G7 agrees to release up to 100 million barrels of diesel and crude over four months

Group of Seven leaders agreed on Oct. 2 to release up to 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil from strategic reserves over the next four months, putting diesel at the center of an emergency response to record fuel prices, according to Le Monde on Oct. 3.

The agreement followed a videoconference convened by French President Emmanuel Macron, and the International Energy Agency will coordinate the release. The French presidency said the leaders unanimously backed a release of refined products, particularly diesel, and crude oil, up to the 100-million-barrel ceiling. G7 members also agreed not to impose energy-export bans or restrictions on one another — a pledge that, at least for now, ends President Donald Trump’s threat of a U.S. diesel export ban unless European allies drew down their own reserves.

U.S. average diesel stood at $6.37 a gallon on Oct. 2, down $0.15 from the $6.52 a gallon reported on Sept. 22, according to AAA data cited by the Associated Press — still at historically elevated levels for trucking. The AP reported the program would begin with a substantial, front-loaded release of diesel within 20 days, though that timetable does not appear in the official French statement. It is also unclear whether the 100 million barrels are additional to the 426-million-barrel IEA release announced in March.