EU Energy Task Force to weigh oil and diesel stock releases today
Member state officials meeting Wednesday morning signalled any release should stay within the volumes agreed in March, according to a memo seen by Bloomberg.
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The EU Energy Task Force will hold a call at 16:00 CEST to discuss releasing oil and diesel stocks, an EU Commission spokesperson said. The call follows a G7 deal announced last week for an emergency release of as much as 100 million barrels of diesel and crude stocks, according to Bloomberg.
At a meeting of EU member state officials on Wednesday morning, there was broad agreement that any further release should stay within the amounts already agreed in March, according to a memo seen by Bloomberg. EU countries have so far released only around half of the oil volumes they committed to in March, the memo showed. Front-loading diesel releases would be possible but only in low volumes, and no EU country has explicitly committed to doing so within a 20-day window, though France and Italy might consider releasing extra diesel beyond their March commitments, Bloomberg reported. Separately, the International Energy Agency's governing board is due to hold its own talks at 1pm Paris time on Wednesday.
The G7 deal came after the Trump administration threatened European countries with a diesel export ban unless they did more to address record diesel prices, Bloomberg reported, and oil and diesel futures fell after the G7 announcement. Global diesel supply has been strained by the Iran war, a Russian export ban following Ukrainian strikes on refineries, and a suspension of October fuel exports by Chinese refiners, Reuters reported. On October 2, EU countries discussed a French proposal for Europe to release 50 million barrels of diesel while IEA members release 50 million barrels of crude, Reuters reported, and Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen told Euronews that a release was under discussion and that Europe had used the option before and would likely use it again.
The Commission said on September 24 that there was no concrete diesel shortage in the EU. Convening a task force specifically to discuss stock releases now marks a shift toward active intervention rather than reassurance. A release of oil or diesel reserves would add supply to European markets and work against any price strength in crude oil and distillates, though the outcome depends on what the task force actually agrees to release and when.