Riyadh refuses Washington’s request to postpone decision on production cuts

MOSCOW, 11 Oct — PRIME. U.S. officials have urged Gulf countries to delay a decision to cut oil production for a month, but Saudi Arabia has refused, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources.

Last week, the oil-producing countries of the OPEC+ alliance, at their first face-to-face meeting in Vienna since the start of the pandemic in 2020, agreed to cut production by two million barrels per day starting in November, extending the deal until the end of 2023.

“Instead… the kingdom called on OPEC allies to approve production cuts… Prince Mohammed (bin Salman) told his advisers that he is not ready to make big sacrifices for the administration of (U.S. President Joe) Biden,” the publication says.

According to the newspaper, officials from the White House contacted the prince, and his colleague, his American colleague Janet Yellen, spoke to the head of the Saudi Arabian Treasury. Washington even promised the kingdom to buy oil on the market to replenish strategic reserves if the price of Brent oil drops to $75 per barrel.

It is noted that the prince’s decision to build a more independent policy in the field of energy production was influenced by a letter from State Department adviser Amos Hochstein. In the appeal, a US official accused Mohammed of not keeping his promise by not boosting oil production enough after Biden’s visit.

According to sources, the prince called the Western countries’ plan to set an oil price ceiling a direct attack on oil-producing countries.