12 European Countries to Release 42.6 Million Barrels from Strategic Reserves by January 2027
Twelve European countries have agreed to jointly release 42.6 million barrels of strategic oil reserves by the end of January 2027 to stabilize energy prices. The move is part of a plan to release 100 million barrels of reserves, agreed to by the Group of Seven (G7) earlier this month.
On October 29, Germany, France, Italy and nine other European countries said in a joint statement that they planned to release 42.6 million barrels of strategic oil reserves by the end of January 2027. About half of the total, or 20.5 million barrels, is diesel. Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxembourg are also taking part.
Dan Jorgensen, the European Union (EU) energy commissioner, said after an EU energy ministers' meeting in Luxembourg on October 29 that member states had "reaffirmed their commitment to bringing forward the release of 42.6 million barrels of strategic oil reserves over the coming months," adding that "about half of this is diesel."
The decision follows a reserve-release plan agreed to by the G7 on October 2 under pressure from the United States. At the time, the G7 agreed to jointly release 100 million barrels of crude oil and diesel over the following four months. U.S. President Donald Trump has urged Europe to release reserves, raising the possibility of restricting U.S. diesel exports to stabilize diesel prices at home.
The Trump Administration is focusing on easing the cost-of-living burden caused by rising energy prices ahead of the midterm elections in November. With international energy prices surging amid the war between Russia and Ukraine and the war with Iran, both the United States and Europe are moving to stabilize fuel prices.
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The International Energy Agency (IEA) had earlier urged its member countries on October 15 to bring forward the release of their reserves. It stressed in particular the need to prioritize and increase the release of diesel, which is in short supply.
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