Greg Stanton, the U.S. Secretary of Energy, has asked European countries to release a significant portion of the European Union's strategic diesel reserves. This request has been made to reduce fuel prices amid a sharp increase in costs. According to statements from four government officials from the European Union and the United States, this proposal is presented as an alternative to President Donald Trump's threat to ban diesel exports from the United States.
Details of the Proposal
The proposal put forward by Stanton includes the release of 120 million barrels of diesel from the national reserves of European countries over a period of 180 days. This amount, according to one government official from a European country, is more than one-third of the approximately 315 million barrels of diesel that EU countries have stored as of June this year. Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Poland have the largest diesel reserves among EU countries.
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Impacts and Consequences
Reports indicate that the White House is considering asking European countries to release their diesel reserves to strengthen global supply and reduce prices. The U.S. government has already contacted Berlin regarding this matter. On the other hand, according to a senior European official, other countries, including the United Kingdom, are also in discussions with the United States on this issue.
Stanton, along with the U.S. oil and gas industry, opposes a ban on diesel exports from the United States and views the proposal to release diesel reserves in European countries as an effort to find an alternative to this ban. At a press conference, a spokesperson for the European Commission did not confirm whether Stanton's request had been sent to the EU, but stated that any release of reserves should be done through the International Energy Agency (IEA).
On the other hand, President Trump confirmed on Wednesday that the ban on diesel exports remains on the agenda, stating, "I am thinking about this issue." He added that he is in discussions with Stanton and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum on this matter and noted that it could be beneficial for diesel but may increase prices of other commodities.
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