White House official to Al Jazeera: Europe must cooperate with the U.S. on diesel fuel supply

A senior White House official has told Al Jazeera that it is in Europe’s “best interest” to cooperate with Washington, as they are “following multiple paths to increase the supply of refined products and lower costs for consumers.”

The statement comes after the reported U.S. threat to ban diesel fuel exports.

“We work every day, for weeks, for months on this issue,” the official explained. “I think you will see diesel prices move significantly down in the coming weeks and days, and we will have some announcements on this.”

“We lack diesel because we have lost diesel exports from Russia… some exports from the Middle East, although we are bringing those back, and we have lost exports from China. So, there are many disruptions. But U.S. refineries are working at record levels,” he added, stressing that announcements from Europe on new supplies would push prices down.

Germany’s economy ministry said on Thursday that it has not been asked by the International Energy Agency to release part of the country’s strategic oil reserves. The diesel crisis is one of the most direct consequences of the U.S.–Iran war for European economies.