OPEC+ members line up to endorse output cut after U.S. coercion claim
OPEC+ member states have lined up to endorse the steep production cut agreed this month after the White House, stepping up a war of words with Saudi Arabia, accused Riyadh of coercing some other nations into supporting the move.
The United States noted on Thursday that the cut would boost Russia’s foreign earnings and suggested it had been engineered for political reasons by Saudi Arabia, which on Sunday denied it was supporting Moscow in its invasion of Ukraine.
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz said the kingdom was working hard to support stability and balance in oil markets, including by establishing and maintaining the agreement of the OPEC+ alliance.
The kingdom’s defence minister and King Salman’s son, Prince Khalid bin Salman, also said the 5 October decision to reduce output by two million barrels per day – taken despite oil markets being tight – was unanimous and based on economic factors.
His comments were backed by ministers of several OPEC+ member states including the United Arab Emirates.
The Gulf state’s energy minister Suhail al-Mazrouei wrote on Twitter: “I would like to clarify that the latest OPEC+ decision, which was unanimously approved, was a pure technical decision, with NO political intentions whatsoever.”
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