The Saudi Energy Minister considered, on Tuesday, that fluctuations in oil prices would have been worse, had it not been for the presence of the OPEC Plus alliance, while the Gulf states called on the West to leave the oil-producing countries to deal with the volatile markets.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said, during his participation in the “World Summit of Governments” held in Dubai, that “I think that without the presence of OPEC Plus, we would not be celebrating a sustainable energy market (…) despite the current volatility.”
He stressed that “the fluctuations would have been worse if OPEC had not been combined and did not exist.”
Russia is the world’s largest gas producer, and the second largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have resisted American and European pressure, in an attempt to preserve the “OPEC Plus” alliance that controls production quantities in the market and is led by Riyadh and Moscow.
Currently, OPEC+ members refuse to significantly increase their production to ease market tension, content with a gradual increase from 400,000 barrels per day each month.
According to the Saudi minister, in OPEC Plus, everyone is “putting politics aside.”
Prince Abdulaziz warned that the attacks carried out by the Houthi rebels on Saudi oil facilities, “questioned our ability to supply the world with the necessary energy requirements.”
And on Friday, the rebels launched attacks with drones and ballistic missiles targeting 16 sites in the Kingdom, and caused a huge fire in two oil tanks in Jeddah, not far from the Formula One racing circuit.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, warned last week that Houthi attacks in Yemen targeting its oil facilities constituted a “threat” to oil supplies in global markets.
For his part, UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei called on the West to “trust” the Gulf states rather than dictates.
“What we need is the process,” Al Mazrouei said. “We need to look at the energy goal, not for them to tell us do this or that.”
“We need to realize that what we do is for the benefit of consumers,” the Emirati minister explained, referring to Washington, which he described as an “important partner.”
“When we say there is a right way to do it, we know that from experience, so trust us.”
According to Al Mazrouei, removing one of the members of the “OPEC Plus” alliance will not be in the interest of consumers.
He continued, “Our goal is to calm the market and provide quantities as much as possible, and if we ask someone to leave, we will raise prices. We are doing something that contradicts the desire of consumers.”