For Europe and America could a slowdown in oil, which makes gas mean higher prices and more economic discomfort?
Is the oil producing states giving America and Europe the middle finger by helping Russia make more money on its oil even as it has beat down the Ukraine?
President Biden can’t be a happy camper on this….
Neither can European leaders…
It would appear that Russian President Putin DOES have friends after all, eh?
Another move on the global diplomatic chess board….
“This is completely not what the White House wants, and it is exactly what Russia wants,” said Bill Farren-Price, the head of macro oil and gas analysis at Enverus, a research firm. It also puts Saudi Arabia on a diplomatic “collision course” with the United States, he said.
The cut of two million barrels a day represents about 2 percent of global oil production.
By reducing output, OPEC Plus was also seeking to make a statement to energy markets about the group’s cohesion during the Ukraine war and its willingness to act quickly to defend prices, analysts say.
At a news conference following the meeting, the Saudi oil minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, said OPEC Plus was acting amid signs of a downturn in the world economy that might cause demand for oil to weaken and prices to fall.
“We would rather be pre-emptive than be sorry,” he said.
It appeared to have had the desired result: The price of Brent crude, which had slumped during the summer, rose more than 1.5 percent after the meeting, extending the gains in recent days and bringing prices back to levels last seen in mid-September.
In response, Biden administration officials said that the president would direct the Energy Department to release 10 million additional barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in November. Earlier this week, the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, had told reporters the administration had no plans to continue releases after a six-month effort to release 1 million barrels a day expired as scheduled at the end of this month.Hours before the OPEC Plus meeting, the European Union pushed ahead with a plan to cap the price of Russian oil, in coordination with Group of 7 nations and others.
Wednesday’s meeting was in person, at OPEC’s headquarters in Vienna, for the first time since March 2020 — a sign of the significance of the announcement. Among those attending was Russia’s deputy prime minister, Alexander Novak, who has played a key role in fostering cooperation with other major oil-producing countries.
The presence of Mr. Novak, who is subject to U.S. sanctions, could come as an embarrassment to officials in Europe when their citizens face what could be a tough winter because of higher energy prices linked to Russia’s war in Ukraine….
Note…
Let us not for get that Trump’s son-in-law has reportedly cut a deal to receive about $2 Billion with the oil producing Saudi’s….