The G7 is releasing 100 million barrels of oil, diesel first. What it means at the pump.
On Friday 2 October 2026, the day UK diesel reached £2 a litre, G7 leaders agreed to release 100 million barrels of emergency oil. The United States had publicly urged Europe to release its diesel stocks, and President Trump announced the deal first. Here is what was agreed, and what it could mean for the price you pay.
Published 3 October 2026 · Fuel Finder UK team
What was agreed
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| How much | 100 million barrels of oil, crude and diesel together |
| Who | G7 members and partners, through the International Energy Agency (IEA) |
| When | Starting at once, spread over four months |
| Diesel | A large release in the first 20 days |
| What next | The IEA reports back within 20 days, and the G7 may release more diesel |
| Not yet known | How much is diesel, each country's share, and whether it includes oil already promised in March |
Source: G7 Leaders' Statement, published on GOV.UK on 2 October 2026.
The details come from the G7 Leaders' Statement on global energy security, published by the UK Government on 2 October 2026. It promises “a front-loaded substantial diesel release within the first 20 days”.
The leaders spoke by video call, chaired by President Macron of France, which holds the G7 presidency this year. They also agreed not to restrict exports of energy products to one another, and to stagger maintenance at their refineries so that fewer are shut at the same time.
The statement gives no split between crude and diesel. Before the call, France had proposed 50 million barrels of diesel from Europe and 50 million of crude, the Irish Times reported.
Spread evenly over four months, 100 million barrels is about 800,000 barrels a day.
Where President Trump comes in
Diesel is at record prices in the United States as well as in Europe. The Associated Press reported a US average of $6.37 a gallon on 2 October, close to the record of $6.52 set on 22 September, with midterm elections due on 3 November.
In the days before the deal, the US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, publicly urged European countries to make more of their stocks available at once, Al Jazeera reported. Newsweek, citing a Reuters report based on unnamed sources, said Germany and France were also warned they could face limits on US diesel exports.
On the morning of 2 October Mr Trump posted on Truth Social that Europe had agreed to release a large amount of diesel and that it would begin immediately. A White House official told the Associated Press that he joined the G7 call. The G7 statement followed the same day, and Mr Trump later told reporters he had asked for the release, according to Newsweek.
In the statement the G7 countries, the US included, reaffirm that they will not restrict energy exports to one another.
Why diesel, and why now
The G7 statement blames Iran's attacks on its neighbours and the disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The war began on 28 February 2026.
Diesel has been hit harder than petrol. Euronews lists the reasons: Russian refineries damaged by drone strikes, fewer exports of refined fuel from the Middle East and Asia, and European refineries with little room to make more. It put the EU average diesel price at a record €2.24 a litre.
In the UK, the RAC's average diesel price passed £2 a litre for the first time on 2 October, at 200.01p, ITV News reported. Our own average from the official price data was 200.0p that afternoon and 200.1p on 3 October.
Source: Fuel Finder UK analysis of official CMA fuel price data. These are single days, not a daily series.
It follows a much larger release. In March, IEA members agreed to release about 400 million barrels, a record for an emergency release. The IEA's figures put the UK's share of that at 14 million barrels. Diesel still rose 35.5p a litre between 8 July and 3 October.
The IEA said on 3 October that 325 million of the March barrels have been released, with 75 million still to come, Euronews reported. The G7 has not said whether its 100 million barrels include those 75 million or come on top of them.
What it could do to the price at the pump
Markets moved on the day. European diesel futures fell about 8% after the announcement, the Irish Times reported, and Brent crude fell 1.5% to about $101 a barrel, according to The National.
Before the deal was done, analysts gave Euronews two estimates. Alan Gelder of Wood Mackenzie said a major release of diesel could take $20 to $30 a barrel off the wholesale price, worth about 10 to 15 euro cents a litre at the pump. George Shaw of Kpler said a significant change takes one to two weeks to reach forecourts.
Those were estimates for a large diesel release. How large this one is has not been published, so nobody can yet say what it is worth in pence.
For scale: every 1p a litre is 55p on a 55-litre fill. At 200.1p a litre, that fill costs £110.06.
Three things to keep in mind:
- Falls reach the pump slowly. Forecourts sell the fuel they have already bought before their price follows the wholesale market down.
- A release is temporary. It puts stored fuel on the market for four months. It does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz or repair a refinery.
- The UK's part is not public. The UK signed the statement, but no figure for its share of this release has been published. A Government spokesperson told ITV News that the UK has a diverse and resilient supply of fuel.
What you can do about it
- Do not wait for the release to fill up. Any fall will come in pennies, over weeks.
- Shop around now. On 2 October, 34% of forecourts charged £2 or more for diesel, which means most charged less. Read Diesel is £2 a litre for where, and see prices by brand and the cheapest towns for fuel.
- Watch the average. The UK average page is updated every day, so you will see it there if diesel starts to fall.
- Hear when it drops. On iPhone and iPad, Price Drop Alerts tell you when a favourite station cuts its price.
- See whether it has started to fall. Every station has a 30-day price history.
- Until then, pay less anyway. Every station near you, cheapest first.
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How we worked it out
What was agreed is taken from the G7 Leaders' Statement on GOV.UK. Reports of what was said and done in the United States are from the Associated Press, Newsweek and Al Jazeera, the market moves are from the Irish Times and The National, and the analysts' estimates are from Euronews, all published on 2 October 2026. The barrels-a-day figure divides 100 million barrels by the 123 days from 2 October 2026 to 2 February 2027. The UK average prices are ours, from the official CMA fuel price data: the 3 October 2026 figures are from our UK average page that day, and the earlier ones are from downloads of the same data on those dates. We will report what our data shows once the first 20 days are up.