Saudi-Russia oil cooperation going strong

VIENNA:

Russia-Saudi oil cooperation is still going strong as part of the OPEC+ alliance, which will do “whatever necessary” to support the market, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told a conference on Wednesday.

OPEC+ has been cutting oil output since November in the face of flagging prices.

Saudi Arabia and Russia, the world’s biggest oil exporters, deepened oil supply cuts on Monday in an effort to send prices higher.

Yet the move only briefly lifted the market. On Wednesday, benchmark Brent futures almost flat at $76.30 per barrel as of 1440 GMT, remaining below the $80-$100 per barrel that most OPEC nations need to balance their budgets.

OPEC says it does not have a price target and is seeking to have a balanced oil market to meet the interests of both consumers and producers.

The United States, the biggest oil producer outside OPEC+, has repeatedly called on the group to boost production to help the global economy and has criticised Saudi cooperation with Russia after the war in Ukraine.

But Riyadh has repeatedly rebuffed US calls and Prince Abdulaziz said on Wednesday that new joint oil output cuts agreed by Russia and Saudi Arabia this week have again proven sceptics wrong.

After the end of the broadcast, Prince Abdulaziz told the OPEC International Seminar that OPEC+ would do “whatever necessary” to support the market, according to a source who attended the meeting.

The IEA has said it expects the oil market to tighten in the second half of 2023, partly because of OPEC+ cuts.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 6^th, 2023.

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