G7 Agrees to Release 100M Barrels of Oil Amid Soaring Gas Prices

The G7 nations have agreed to release 100 million barrels of oil and diesel fuel in an effort to reduce skyrocketing gas prices. The international agreement, announced on Friday, includes a substantial amount of diesel that will be released immediately over the next 20 days, with the remaining fuel released over four months.

The national average for a gallon of diesel in the U.S. was $6.37 on Friday, according to AAA, after hitting a record $6.52 on September 22. Diesel prices have also reached records in Europe, leading some analysts to predict that exports from the U.S. could be reduced, resulting in lower prices between 25-50 cents per gallon within a few weeks.

The G7 nations have also agreed not to limit energy exports to each other, following calls by some Republicans for a U.S. export ban. Oil market analysts had warned that such a ban could lower prices in the short term but eventually backfire by reducing supplies of gasoline since diesel output cannot be lowered without cutting overall refinery production.