French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Tuesday that oil product prices could rise sharply unless the Strait of Hormuz is reopened quickly, saying global oil inventories had fallen by more than 500 million barrels as a result of the war in Iran.
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Macron has also written to the European Commission urging it to postpone new methane reporting requirements for oil and gas importers, arguing that the rules could create legal risks for importers as energy supplies tighten, according to Reuters.
French newspaper Les Echos published Macron’s letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, dated September 18.
The new rules, scheduled to take effect on January 1, would require the monitoring and verification of methane emissions from fuel shipments entering the bloc. The measures are intended to reduce leaks of the potent greenhouse gas and impose fines on companies that violate the regulations.
Macron called for the rules to be postponed for one year, until January 1, 2028.
Methane is the second-largest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide.
Several EU member states, including Germany, Europe’s largest gas market, have sought to delay implementation of the rules. In response, the European Commission in July instructed EU member states to exempt countries from financial penalties linked to the regulations for three years, through the end of 2029, due to supply shortages caused by the war in Iran. However, it did not agree to postpone implementation of the rules.
In his letter, Macron also called on the European Union to temporarily relax fuel-quality standards to increase European production of kerosene and diesel by up to 20% amid growing supply pressures.
Macron said French refineries estimated that easing certain specifications could increase fuel production by between 5% and 20%, depending on the refinery.
The French president also proposed easing restrictions on biofuel blending, including allowing distributors to replace B7 diesel, which contains up to 7% biodiesel, with B10, which contains up to 10%.
