Germany to release up to 15 million barrels of oil under G7 plan

Germany will release up to 15 million barrels of diesel, heating oil and crude from emergency reserves, its ‌economy minister told Reuters on Friday, making Europe's largest contribution under a G7-backed effort to ease fuel shortages and curb soaring energy prices caused by the wars in Iran and Ukraine. The International Energy Agency (IEA) agreed on Wednesday to accelerate planned ‌releases from emergency oil reserves amounting to about 100 million barrels, prioritising diesel as governments seek to ease ‌prices of the fuel that underpins transport, agriculture and industry.

The US had led a pressure campaign on the European Union to draw down emergency diesel inventories, with President Donald Trump's administration warning that failure to act could lead to an American ban on diesel exports. "Diesel and ⁠heating oil ​will be the first, ⁠with crude oil to follow," Germany's Economy Minister Katherina Reiche told Reuters, adding that Germany will fully implement the G7 agreement.

"We must always have ⁠the entire supply chain in mind. Available crude oil alone is not enough," she said. She did not specify the breakdown ​between diesel, heating oil and crude or the timeline of the release.

In March the IEA, which coordinates ⁠emergency oil stockpiles among industrialised countries, launched a 400-million-barrel release programme to counter shortages caused by the Iran war, although not all of those ⁠volumes ​have yet reached the market. Germany had pledged 19.5 million barrels under the March agreement, the largest commitment by any EU country, ahead of France's 14.6 million barrels.

France on Wednesday announced a 10-million-barrel release from emergency diesel ⁠reserves, while Italy said it had already met its 10-million-barrel commitment under the IEA stock-release programme. JPMorgan estimates Europe still has ⁠about 40 million barrels left ⁠to release from volumes pledged under the IEA's March programme.

With France and Germany now committing a combined 25 million barrels, roughly 15 million barrels would remain outstanding.