France floats major oil and diesel reserve release in response to US pressure

BRUSSELS — French officials proposed a large release of strategic oil and diesel reserves during emergency talks Friday after Washington urged European capitals to tap stockpiles or face a potentially crippling ban on fuel exports, according to two people briefed on the meeting.

Under a proposal made during a gathering of senior European energy officials Friday, Paris suggested that EU countries release 50 million barrels of crude oil and 50 million barrels of diesel, according to the people. The idea is still undergoing technical assessment, said one of the people.

It comes after U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright asked European countries to release 120 million barrels from stockpiles over a three-month period to combat rising diesel prices or else face export restrictions. According to the people, France’s compromise offer Friday was in response to a fresh request by the U.S. to French President Emmanuel Macron to release 100 million barrels of fuel, all of which should be diesel.

Berlin, on the other hand, was reluctant to release any barrels, according to the people. “Germany and others don’t want to be used; they wish to release stocks only for real security of supply reasons,” one of them told POLITICO, speaking on condition of anonymity to speak candidly, as with others in this piece. Germany and France have the largest reserves of oil and petroleum products in Europe, according to official EU statistics.

“France is keen to participate and meet the request … it’s clear the EU will do something, to the extent they can agree on something,” said the second person. They added that it was unclear whether the release would be jointly coordinated by the EU or done on a bilateral basis, given the “messy” approach by the U.S., which has sent different requests to different countries. “It’s a typical US request — they don’t go through the official normal channels.”

The U.S. is increasingly frustrated at EU countries that have failed to deliver on commitments to contribute to the 400 million barrel release coordinated earlier this year by the International Energy Agency following the outbreak of the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. In the high-level Energy Union Taskforce meeting Friday, some EU countries also rounded on France and Germany for their failure to release substantial oil reserves into the market, according to one of the people.

POLITICO reported Thursday that leading EU countries and the U.K. wanted to respond to the U.S. pressure with an “assertive” voice while seeking to de-escalate.