PARIS — Leaders of the Group of Seven nations agreed Friday to release up to 100 million barrels of crude oil and diesel from emergency reserves over the next four months, a coordinated move to tame record fuel prices driven by the war with Iran and attacks on Russian refineries.
The decision was reached during an emergency video call convened under France’s rotating G7 presidency after President Emmanuel Macron spoke with President Donald Trump on Thursday, according to Le Monde and Reuters. The release will be coordinated through the International Energy Agency, with a substantial diesel tranche front-loaded in the first 20 days.
The leaders also pledged that G7 members would impose no bans or export restrictions on energy products between themselves. “We have agreed that there will be no ban or restrictions on exports between G7 members… President Trump was very clear on this point,” Macron said.
Trump had threatened for about two weeks to ban U.S. diesel exports to push Europe to draw down its stockpiles. After the deal, he told reporters the ban was never really on the table and would not happen. On Truth Social he wrote that “Europe has just agreed to release a massive amount of their heavily stocked Diesel Oil.”
Benchmark Brent crude settled around $100 to $102 a barrel on Friday, while West Texas Intermediate traded near $91. U.S. diesel prices are at a record $6.50 a gallon, and European diesel futures have traded above $200 a barrel, according to market data.
Several reports cautioned that the 100 million barrels may include volumes pledged but not yet delivered under a larger 400-million-barrel release agreed in March — meaning the new commitment may not be an entirely fresh tranche. The United States is the world’s largest diesel supplier, and Russia has curtailed exports after repeated Ukrainian strikes on its refineries.
