OPEC+ members line up to endorse output cut after US claims

Saudi Arabia’s defense minister said the decision by OPEC+ to cut oil output was taken unanimously and for purely economic reasons.

The decision of the OPEC+ group of oil exporting nations to cut oil production was a technical one, not political, the UAE minister of energy and infrastructure, Suhail Mohamed AlMazrouei, said.

“I would like to clarify that the latest OPEC+ decision, which was unanimously approved, was a pure technical decision with no political intentions whatsoever,” he wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

Also in a statement, Iraq’s State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) also reacted to US allegations and said, “There is complete consensus among OPEC+ countries that the best approach in dealing with the oil market conditions during the current period of uncertainty and lack of clarity is a pre-emptive approach that supports market stability and provides the guidance needed for the future.”

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation Chief Executive Officer Nawaf Saud al-Sabah also welcomed the decision by OPEC+ – which includes other major producers, notably Russia – and said the country was keen to maintain a balanced oil market.

Oman and Bahrain said in separate statements that OPEC had unanimously agreed on the reduction, according to Reuters.

Algeria’s energy minister called the decision “historic” and he and OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais, visiting Algeria, expressed their full confidence in it, Algeria’s Ennahar TV reported.

Ghais later told a news conference that the organization targeted a balance between supply and demand rather than a specific price.

Last week, the 23-member OPEC+ alliance of oil-producing countries — including Saudi Arabia and Russia — agreed to reduce its November output by 2 million barrels per day, citing “uncertainty” in the market.

It is OPEC+’s biggest production cut since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, which led to a jump in oil prices.

The decision has sharply angered the US administration, with President Joe Biden threatening “consequences” for Saudi Arabia.

Clarifying its position on the Ukraine-Russia conflict, Saudi Arabia rejected the US’s accusations that Riyadh was taking sides.

“The kingdom clarified through its continuous consultations with the US 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,” it said.

“The Kingdom stresses that while it strives to preserve the strength of its relations with all friendly countries, it affirms its rejection of any dictates, actions, or efforts to distort its noble objectives to protect the global economy from oil market volatility,” the statement said.

It also said that Saudi Arabia views its relationship with the United States as a “strategic one,” but stressed the importance of mutual respect.

After slashing oil production, Saudi royals are said to be working to help the Republicans win the upcoming midterms in the US.

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