Kingdom is not using oil as a weapon against US : Saudi FM

Adel Al-Jubeir, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, stated that Saudi Arabia does not use oil and the OPEC+ alliance as a weapon against the US, denying that Saudi Arabia has reduced oil production to harm the US.

“Oil is an important commodity for the global economy, in which we have a great interest,” Al-Jubeir said in an interview with the US “FOX News” network on Friday. “But we do not politicize oil or decisions related to it.”

After their meeting last Wednesday, October 5, 2022, OPEC + members agreed to reduce production by two million barrels per day in November and to extend the “Declaration of Cooperation” until the end of 2023, provided that ministerial meetings will be held every six months, and the Ministerial Monitoring Committee for “OPEC +” will meet every two months to monitor market developments.

The White House was quick to criticize the OPEC + decision to reduce oil production after it was announced. Following the decision of the OPEC+ countries, White House economic adviser Brian Dees stated that Washington is considering withdrawing from the strategic oil reserve, noting that the lack of oil supplies remains a major challenge.

The US position on the OPEC + decision did not end there, as US President Joe Biden quickly expressed his disappointment with the OPEC + countries’ plans to reduce oil production, and stated that the US is studying the alternatives available to it.

The Biden administration is concerned in the aftermath of the unexpected cut in oil production by the “OPEC +” alliance, amid fears of higher fuel prices ahead of the November midterm elections and the end of Democrats’ control of Congress.

Concerning fuel prices in the US, Al-Jubeir stated that the cause is a lack of production by American refineries, not the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

According to Al-Jubeir, the US and Saudi Arabia have a strategic relationship based on partnership and alliance.

Al-Jubeir also mentioned the US oil industry’s weakness, saying, “With all due respect, the high fuel prices you have are caused by a 20-year shortage in oil refineries.”