Saudi Arabia rejected as “not based on facts” criticism of the latest OPEC+ decision in the past week to cut its oil production target despite many US objections and stated that Washington’s request to delay the cut by a month would have had many negative economic consequences.
The OPEC+ decision was adopted via consensus, took into consideration the balance of supply and demand and was aimed at limiting market volatility, the Saudi foreign ministry said in an official statement on October 13.
Earlier this week, U.S. President Joe Biden pledged that “there will be consequences” for United States relations with Saudi Arabia after OPEC+ stated in the past week that it would cut its oil production target by 2 million barrels per day.
The producer group comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies like Russia (OPEC+) confirmed its new production target after several weeks of lobbying by US officials against this move.
This OPEC+ cut has raised concerns in Washington about the possibility of higher gasoline prices ahead of the November US midterm elections, with the Democrats trying to retain their control of the House of Representatives and Senate.
Notably, the Saudi foreign ministry statement on Thursday highlighted consultations with the US before the October 5 OPEC+ meeting where it was asked to delay the cuts by up to a month. The Saudi foreign ministry statement reads:
Buy Crypto Now“The Kingdom clarified through its continuous consultations with the U.S. administration that all economic analyses indicate that postponing the OPEC+ decision for a month, according to what has been suggested would have had negative economic consequences.”
The US accused Saudi Arabia of kowtowing to Moscow, which goes against a Western cap on the price of Russian oil in response to its invasion of Ukraine. In that context, the Saudi foreign ministry statement, which quoted an unnamed official, stressed the “purely economic context” of the oil production cut.
It also stated that the Kingdom views its relationship with the United States as a ‘strategic one’ and insisted on the importance of mutual respect. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) issued its official statement in support of Saudi Arabia’s comments praising the kingdom’s efforts to protect the global oil market from volatility. Hence, the move was based on market balance.
