Riyadh emphasized that decisions on oil policy will be made in accordance with the logic of the market and the framework of the OPEC + alliance after the completion of US President Joe Biden’s visit to the kingdom, Bloomberg reports.
Biden said late Friday that Saudi officials shared the “urgent need” for more oil supplies and expected “further steps in the coming weeks” in that direction.
Meanwhile, Saudi officials stressed that any decision on oil production will be made within the framework of OPEC +, whose next meeting will be held on August 3, 2022.
Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told reporters: “We are listening to our partners and friends from all over the world, especially consumer countries. But in the end, (OPEC+) follows market conditions and will supply energy as needed.”
The OPEC+ alliance includes Russia, against which the US is trying to impose sanctions to prevent it from taking advantage of oil revenues because of Ukraine, while Riyadh has clearly stated its commitment to work within the alliance (OPEC+).
Biden’s trip to the kingdom has sparked controversy at home, but near-record gas prices also pose a political risk. “I’m doing everything I can to increase shipments to the United States and I expect that to happen,” Biden said.
For his part, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir downplayed the idea of any agreement. He said: “This is not about an agreement. This is a long-term policy of the Kingdom to ensure that there is sufficient supply of crude oil in the markets, and we are very closely monitoring the state of supply and demand. potential shortfall, we are working to increase crude oil production through and with our OPEC partners and our (OPEC+) partners.”
The alliance had already taken steps to accelerate output growth in June 2022 following calls from consuming countries including the United States, but a drop in oil prices from recent highs due to economic recession risks gripping markets could change the picture ahead of the alliance. meeting August 3, 2022.
The additional increase is expected to be modest as Gulf heavyweights prefer to maintain their remaining spare capacity amid supply disruptions ranging from unrest in Libya to sanctions against Russia.
Source: Bloomberg.