Russia to supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel to U.S. and global market, Trump says — SkimNews
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- Trump announced Russia agreed to immediately supply 300,000 metric tons (about 2.25 million barrels) of diesel to U.S. and global markets after what he called a "highly successful" call with Putin, with Putin's envoy Kirill Dmitriev praising the cooperation on X.
- Trump said Russia would send another 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons "immediately thereafter," contingent on the condition of Russian refineries that have been damaged by Ukrainian attacks.
- The U.S. Treasury issued a general license Friday permitting Russian diesel imports until April 7, even though the U.S. already has sanctions in place on Russian energy companies over the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
- Zelensky condemned the arrangement on X, writing that "gifts to Putin will not bring peace" and that Russia would "repay" the diesel "with further terror and perfidy."
- Analysts dismissed the deal's likely price impact: oil researcher Rory Johnston called it "a nothing burger" on X because Russia normally exports far more diesel when refineries aren't under attack, and Wood Mackenzie's Jim Mitchell said it is "another stream" but "clearly not a fix."
- U.S. diesel prices averaged $6.28 a gallon Thursday per AAA, up 70% since the U.S.-Israel war with Iran began Feb. 28; U.S. diesel futures fell more than 4.8% to $4.64 a gallon after the deal was announced.
- Trump will also issue a directive in coming days to department heads to use the Cold War-era Defense Production Act to expand domestic refining capacity and bypass state and local regulations blocking energy production.
Why it matters: The 300,000 tons Trump announced equals roughly 1.5 days of U.S. diesel exports, and analysts dismissed it as "a nothing burger" since Russia normally ships far more when refineries aren't under attack. Diesel is already up 70% since the Feb. 28 Iran war; the more substantive move is Trump's coming directive to use the Defense Production Act to bypass state regulations and expand refining capacity, where executives told officials federal money is better spent on efficiency than new plants.
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