The Group of Seven nations agreed Friday to release 100 million barrels of oil and fuel products over four months, beginning with substantial diesel releases within the first 20 days, according to a joint statement.”Europe has just agreed to release a massive amount of their heavily stocked Diesel Oil. The process will begin immediately,” President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social.G7 nations did not specify how the 100 million barrels would be divided among crude oil, diesel and other fuels, nor did they confirm which countries would participate. The statement also outlined plans for discussions through the International Energy Agency.”We will convene in the context of the IEA in the coming days to discuss the possibility of additional diesel releases as necessary,” the G7 nations said in a statement.Higher U.S. diesel prices are driving up costs for farmers in this year’s fall harvest, potentially increasing inflation at the nation’s grocery stores. Earlier this week, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley called on the president to place an embargo on U.S. diesel exports, arguing that rising fuel and transportation costs are “killing farmers’ income.”The G7 announcement comes as the average U.S. price of on-highway diesel remained near $6.50 per gallon over the last two weeks, up from under $4 earlier this spring due to tight global supplies caused by Ukraine’s military strikes on Russian oil refineries and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.Tuesday was the first day of a three-month sugarcane harvest on the Naquin family farm along Bayou Lafourche near Thibodaux, Louisiana. Craig Naquin told WWLTV that the family is now spending $1,000 on diesel fuel every day.”The price of diesel is pretty much doubled from last year,” said Naquin. “Every tanker we buy, we see the price when it comes in and it’s a hard pill to swallow.”Naquin’s cousin, Ryan, said the high diesel costs are also hurting area sugar mills. “They are responsible for transportation from the field to the factory. That diesel price is hitting them even harder than us,” said Ryan Naquin.Trump said Friday that he would not impose a diesel export ban, Reuters reported.Trump said in the Oval Office Wednesday that a diesel export ban is “something that we think about and we talk about every day,” adding that he was relying on Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to make the decision.Wright last week warned Trump that an export ban would trigger a “negative impact on gasoline,” causing the price of this fuel to go up even while diesel goes down. Wright said that if refiners can’t export diesel, domestic storage tanks will fill to capacity, forcing refineries to scale back overall production and driving prices higher for gasoline and jet fuel.Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry declared a statewide emergency on Sept. 23, when he ordered the temporary suspension of penalties to allow farmers and loggers to burn off-road, dyed diesel in highway vehicles through late October at a lower cost. Simultaneously, Landry pushed for a 90-day pause on all U.S. diesel exports – a measure opposed by the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association, which contends it would disrupt pipelines and refining infrastructure and increase the cost of gasoline.In an effort to increase overall fuel supplies, the governors of Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, Nebraska and seven other states also signed executive orders during the last 10 days that waive restrictions on off-road diesel. On Monday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a 254-county disaster to lift oversize truck weight limits, eliminate local low-emission fuel rules and request comprehensive EPA regulatory waivers.The front-month November low-sulfur diesel futures contract dropped by 17.5 cents, or about 3.8%, in market trading Friday to $4.47 per gallon. Across the Atlantic, European gasoil futures, the benchmark for diesel, traded about 7% lower on the ICE Futures Europe exchange, between $1,377 and $1,380 per metric ton.
