(Bloomberg) – French President Emmanuel Macron said he would convene a meeting of the Group of Seven countries in the coming weeks to discuss a potential release from strategic oil-product stockpiles as soaring energy prices sap economic growth.
“I will convene a G7 to move forward on improving coordination on the level of stockpiles, with greater cooperation on exports and production capacity,” Macron said at a press conference in Paris on Friday.
The meeting will come as fuel prices in Europe surge, with the Middle East conflict and Russia’s war in Ukraine disrupting supply. This week, the region’s diesel benchmark moved above $200/bbl for the first time since April. With taxes, retail prices are north of $300.
Earlier this year, the International Energy Agencyagreed to releasea record amount of supply from emergency reserves onto global markets. In Europe, those stockpiles are mostly made up of fuels like gasoline and diesel, which could make a release more effective at taming fuel prices.
The G7 meeting will be devoted “to increasing cooperation and avoiding unnecessary tensions between G7 countries and our main partners, and to considering options for a potential release of strategic stockpiles,” following similar coordination with the IEA a few months ago, Macron said.
So far, IEA members have released more than 300 MMbbl of stocks as part of the plan announced earlier this year, the agency saidon Friday. Last week, its head of oil markets said there are still significant volumes of emergency stocks left, especially in Europe.
France is working to secure supplies of products such as diesel, jet fuel and natural gas for the coming months, and the government will meet on Monday to consider fresh steps to ease high energy costs, Macron said.
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