The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia issued a statement to clarify matters surrounding the OPEC+ decision to make its sharpest output cut since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The government’s foreign ministry reaffirmed that the organization of oil-exporting states made the decision to slash oil production should not be characterized as “taking sides in international conflicts” and “politically motived against the United States of America.”
“The Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would first like to express its total rejection of these statements that are not based on facts, and which are based on portraying the OPEC+ decision out of its purely economic context,” the kingdom said in its statement.
OPEC and its allies agreed last week in Vienna to proceed with cutting oil production by 2 million barrels per day come November, which amounts to about 2% of total global demand–the biggest cut it implemented since the pandemic.
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The White House reportedly used all available resources to lobby the oil cartel ahead of their Vienna meeting, and is now left “having a spasm and panicking,” according to the people familiar with the matter. US President Joe Biden said he is “concerned” with OPEC’s decision, going as far as to call the move “a hostile act” and a “total disaster.”
But the Middle Eastern state–considered the de facto leader of the oil-exporting nations–countered this argument in its statement. The kingdom revealed that the Biden administration–through continuous consultation–has been asking to delay the planned oil output cut by a month.
However, OPEC+ seemingly thumbed down the request, citing the delay “would have had negative economic consequences.”
As to the allusions of taking sides in the global conflicts, the Kingdom reiterated that it will not change its “principled position” regarding the Russia-Ukraine war, “including its vote to support UN resolutions” related to the crisis.
OPEC, for its part, reminded Washington that the group is a “technical organization” rather than a political one, and won’t cater to Biden’s demands even if it means damaging relations with the US.
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