G7 Plans 100 Million-Barrel Oil Release as Nigeria Diesel Hits N1,800

G7 nations and their partners have agreed to release as much as 100 million barrels of emergency crude oil and diesel stocks to ease tight fuel supplies and bring down elevated diesel prices. French President Emmanuel Macron announced the agreement on Friday, October 2.

The release will be coordinated through the International Energy Agency (IEA) over the next four months. Diesel supplies will take priority in the initial phase. A significant volume of diesel is expected to hit the market within the first 20 days. The IEA could consider further drawdowns if supply conditions remain tight. Part of the 100 million barrels will come from stocks countries had already committed under an earlier IEA-coordinated release in March but have not yet put on the market.

Trump Pressure and G7 Commitments

The agreement follows pressure from the administration of US President Donald Trump. Washington pushed European countries to accelerate releases from emergency fuel reserves as diesel prices climbed. Macron said: “We have all committed together to releasing these strategic reserves in the proportions I mentioned, with a focus on diesel. We are all committed to ensuring there are no export bans, and President Trump, in particular, was very clear on this point.” Trump said in a social media post on Friday: “Europe has just agreed to release a massive amount of their heavily stocked Diesel Oil. The process will begin immediately.” The G7 comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. It also reaffirmed its commitment to avoiding energy export restrictions between member countries.

Market Reaction and Earlier Release

The announcement already weighed on fuel markets. European gasoil futures, the benchmark for diesel prices, fell about 4.3% to $1,386.75 per metric tonne on Friday afternoon as traders priced in additional supply. In March, the IEA announced plans for an emergency release of about 400 million barrels of oil, the largest coordinated stock drawdown in the agency’s roughly 50-year history. The intervention was announced as governments moved to address supply disruptions after the outbreak of the Iran war. Not all barrels committed under the March intervention reached the market. IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said earlier this week that roughly a third of the initial stocks remained unreleased.

Diesel markets have come under pressure since the Iran conflict began in late February. Disruptions hit Middle Eastern production and shipping through critical routes such as the Strait of Hormuz. Limited global refining capacity and continued disruption from the Russia-Ukraine war added pressure to diesel supplies. The proposed release could provide short-term relief by increasing available inventories. European gasoil was trading at about $1,386.75 per metric tonne on Friday after falling more than 4% as expectations of emergency stock releases eased concerns about near-term supply shortages.

Nigeria Diesel Price Jumps

Nigeria has also seen a sharp rise in diesel prices since the latest global energy shock. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the average retail price of Automotive Gas Oil stood at N1,420.17 per litre in February 2026, around the period the Iran conflict began. Current market data puts diesel at about N1,800 per litre. That is an increase of roughly 27% from February levels. It is also higher than N1,730 per litre one month ago and N1,442.50 three months ago. Compared with N964.75 per litre a year ago, the current diesel price represents an increase of about 86.6%.

Data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority showed that average daily diesel imports dropped to about 1.3 million litres in August from 7.9 million litres in July. Petrol imports also declined to an average of 14.6 million litres per day in August 2026, down about 26% from 19.7 million litres per day in July. The reduction in imports means domestic fuel prices are becoming less directly dependent on the volume of finished products brought into the country, although global crude prices, refining economics, foreign exchange costs and international product prices can still influence local pricing.